Doesn't it make your Heartbeat Flutter?
by God Emperor Penguin
Summary: Second Seat of the Elite Ten Rindou Kobayashi has always marched to the beat of her own drum. Unconventional, unorthodox, and with a playful persona - Rindou could never find the appeal of a rather boring, cooking school. Nothing held her attention for long, that is, until a particular transfer student came along…
1. A Fluttering Heartbeat

**Summary:** _Second Seat of the Elite Ten_ _Rindou Kobayashi has always marched to the beat of her own drum. Unconventional, unorthodox, and with a playful persona - Rindou could never find the appeal of a rather boring, cooking school. Nothing held her attention for long, that is, until a particular transfer student came along…_

 **Doesn't it make your Heartbeat Flutter?**

 **Shokugeki no Souma**

 _Chapter One_

 _A Fluttering Heartbeat_

Rindou Kobayashi skipped down the hallway, hands in her hair and bored out of her mind.

It was another day full of pointless propositions. Who knew being the second best chef of her generation at the finest culinary school in Japan would come with so much baggage? Rindou had restaurateurs, business magnates, and celebrities all courting her - both for her cooking skills and romantically - when all she wanted was to try all the food the world had the offer. The world of cooking is so vast, yet here she was filling out paperwork or going to meetings or meeting some balding octogenarian and his crone bragging about how his son is a lawyer or a doctor or a samurai or some ridiculous profession that requires an inane amount of schooling and tuition.

The Tootsuki Academy of Culinary Arts and Tea Ceremonies is a school that adheres to tradition and protocol which is just plain _boooring_ in Rindou Kobayashi's opinion.

Maybe she should have just stuck to watching the _Cooking with Dog_ videos and that be that. But noooo, apply for a cooking school her mom insisted. At least then _her-no-good-for-nothing-'I-want-be-a-hikikomori-when-I-grow-up!'_ daughter could get decent grades in something.

Who knew her mother's plan would be so wildly successful?

It started with one random shokugeki, a cooking competition. She just wanted a pencil and the stingy broad next to her wouldn't let her borrow one. So she challenged her. And she won. Now Rindou gets a bi-weekly shipment of pencils sent to her room as tribute from her.

 _Ha!_

At least that was fun...

Turning a corner in the hallway, Rindou sighed.

Whatever was there to do? How could she alleviate the emptiness in her chest? The magic of the school was long gone. Everything came too easy. As a third year, she'd seen all the school events that were offered. Challenge letters came in less frequently as whispers of her brutal beatdowns of any challenger circulated with more and more intensity. Even Eishi Tsukasa, the first seat and only student above her, was so boring. It's not like he was better than her at cooking or anything. The guy just never seems to be able have enough free time to do a random shokugeki with her.

And if he did, he'd probably start having panic attacks about the stadium's floor tile arrangement or something.

Then, as Rindou approached the end of the hallway, she saw a girl on the ground fuming about something.

"Oiii! Erinaaa!"

"E- _Eh!?_ Rindou-senpai!?"

"Yo! How's the ground?"

"It's fine, I just dropped something," Erina replied with a flip of her hair. If only she dropped that haughty attitude she might be able to more approachable to the opposite sex. But Rindou was only her senior in cooking. In terms of romantic affairs, Rindou, who had no experience in love, was as useful as prime rib-eye steaks at a vegan conference.

"After you hit your hand on the wall? Must have hurt." Rindou smiled, baring her fangs.

 _She knew!_ was the expression Erina conveyed. Teasing the underclassmen never gets boring, Rindou mused.

"Wha-what are you doing here?"

The young heiress of the Nakiri cooking dynasty was flushed red. Rindou was definitely interested. She had stumbled upon the straight laced and uptight Erina's private moment. And from what she knew of the Erina, the girl never gets flustered or embarrassed _ever_.

Rindou was curious.

"I wanted to check out the transfer examinations," Rindou answered cheerfully.

"W-well they're over! Nobody passed! Not a single one!" Erina crossed her arms, a piece of paper clutched in her hands. Erina's eyes closed as she scoffed. "All the candidates were pathetic. There was even one in particular that… ugh, nevermind. They were all fifth-rate chefs, so don't even bother-"

"What's this?" Rindou asked innocently.

When Erina opened her eyes, she realized the paper that was a moment ago in her hands was now held up high in the light, being read by her senior.

"N-nothing!"

Erina tried to snatch it away but missed.

"Yukihira… Souma, huh?"

The candidate for transfer to the academy came from a small special-of-the-day diner. His picture looked goofy and a bit dopey. Obviously he wasn't very photogenic. He had no remarkable achievements other than his long career at his Yukihira restaurant, which wasn't uncommon for family-owned businesses.

"He's a nobody!"

In the examiner's comment section, in giant bright red ink were the words:

 _ **IT WAS BAD.**_

On the top corner, where it displayed the results, a giant red stamp fail was pressed against it.

"Didn't make it huh?"

"No. His dish was b-... it dish was b…" Erina's voice slowly got weaker until finally, the answer came out in a barely audible whisper. " _His dish was bad_."

"Really now?"

Rindou handed back the paper.

"Keep it… I really rather not see it again."

And so, Erina Nakiri slumped away. Rindou tucked the paper in her pocket before breaking out into a sprint towards the cooking examination room.

Whoever this guy was, he could make Erina Nakiri annoyed!

If that wasn't interesting, then Rindou Kobayashi didn't know what was!

Peeking in, Rindou saw the coast was clear.

Darn, must have missed him, Rindou sighed.

Entering the cooking examination room, she turned on the lights. She wandered about before she saw one station that looked recently used. Realizing that no one had bothered to clean up after themselves or dispose of the dish, Rindou skipped over to the tray with a bowl of something inside.

A pair of chopsticks laid off to the side.

"What's this? Egg? And what's this jelly stuff?"

With a swift motion, Rindou had the chopsticks pick up a piece of rice and egg and gooey whatever that was. In three seconds, two bites, and it was down the hatch and on a one-way ticket to her belly.

"Hot damn!"

Rindou instinctively smiled. Her free hand placed on her cheek as the taste of the delightful stuff lingered on in her mouth. The tingling sensation from the slick rice sliding her throat was still fresh in her mind. There was the green onion sharpness, a chicken-like savoriness, all bonded together around rice's soft texture and the egg's gentle saltiness.

"What a dish!"

Rindou smiled and looked around.

It was the only station that had been used and it was the only dish in the vicinity. Erina Nakiri was known to prune candidates prior to the cooking examination, so it wouldn't be surprising… if…

"So this is what Yukihira Souma made, huh?"

Interesting, _how interesting_!

It was so raw and unrefined, but the potential! It was there! This was definitely not a simple dish you'd get at any run-of-the-mill eatery. It was polished. It was chiseled. There was no excess or want of ingredients and a display of tenderness.

This was the sort of flavor anyone can enjoy.

Placing a hand over her chest, she felt the warmth in this dish. A slight blush formed on her cheeks. That's it! Rindou Kobayashi has made her decision!

Rindou smiled and pulled out a phone.

With a quick press on speed-dial #1, Rindou made the call.

"Oiii! Eishi!"

"Rindou? I'm kind of busy cleaning right now. I think I saw a speck of dust in my kitchen and that could disrupt the delicate balance of my dish and-"

"Sounds fun! Hey, look, aren't you and Nakiri in the transfer committee?"

"Well yes, but Erina said she'd handle that by herself-"

"There's someone I want you to pass!"

There was silence on the other line.

"That's awfully out-of-character for you…," Eishi sighed. "Then again, maybe not. Is he a specialist in cooking larvae and insects by chance?"

"No… but I think I've taken a liking to him."

"Really."

Eishi's reply was stoic, and methodical. It was a measured response. Rindou doesn't take a liking to just anybody… in fact, Rindou never takes a liking to anybody.

But Rindou never does anything without reason.

"So, I want you to pass him."

"I get that." Eishi was still quiet. "What's got you so interested in him?"

"Not sure…"

Eishi sighed again on the other line.

"Rindou…"

Instantly, the thought of Eishi once again becoming so overwhelmed by pressure and minute details before crouching into his defensive curl entered Rindou's mind. If he doesn't that, it'd take hours -maybe even days- to coax him out.

"Hey hey! Don't retreat into your shell on me, you little turtle!"

"Give me a good reason, why."

"Well if you really want to know…"

"I do."

Eishi paused. Rindou placed a finger on her bottom lip. The words were on the tip of her tongue. What was it? What was it about that sample of delicious delight could convey what she felt to Eishi? Chefs communicate through foods and expressions. The sight of one eating happily… the smile on one's lips… what could she say?

How could she express to Eishi what she felt in a succinct phrase over the phone?

Placing a hand over her heart, Rindou's response clicked. The words formulated in her mind.

She took a deep breath.

" _His cooking makes my heartbeat flutter._ "

Eishi didn't say anything after that and hung up.

 _Chapter One Fin_

 _A Fluttering Heartbeat_


	2. A Tour of Campus

**Summary:** _Second Seat of the Elite Ten_ _Rindou Kobayashi has always marched to the beat of her drum. Unconventional, unorthodox, and with a playful persona - Rindou could never find the appeal of a rather boring, cooking school. Nothing held her attention for long, that is, until a particular transfer student came along…_

 **Doesn't it make your Heartbeat Flutter?**

 **Shokugeki no Souma**

 _Chapter Two_

 _A Tour of Campus_

Rindou Kobayashi was laughing her head off.

The transfer student, Yukihira Souma, gave a speech.

"' _This school is just a stepping stone for me_ '!" Rindou repeated with tears in her eyes clutching her stomach. There wasn't any arrogance, or even hubris. No, there wasn't a hint of any of that. Instead, it was a genuine belief that this school was just another thing to do, like another item on a laundry list.

It was a very real confidence, with such a thick undertone of carefree naivety.

This school year would definitely be more fun than last year's! The thought pleased Rindou to no end. Finally, after two years of utterly dominating whatever petty challenges this school had to offer, there was finally a wild card in the mix. Everyone who attended the academy came from posh and upper crust establishments or wealthy families with plenty of money and freetime.

But here he was, a simple commoner talking down on all of them.

Oh boy, Rindou thought with glee. Hopefully this boy would produce wonders for the school.

She only hoped he had the talent to back his big mouth.

With a merry tune on her lips, Rindou skipped along the perimeter of the assembly hoping to run into the boy named Yukihira Souma.

"My my, where could you be…" Rindou thought cheerfully.

There was a sea of freshmen and there was wayward glances here and there. Some because there was a pretty girl, an upperclassman no less, in their presence. Others because there was a girl skipping around in the cherry blossom petal winds with a huge smile plastered on her face.

And others because they realized that their pitiful existences had been graced by Rindou Kobayashi, Second Seat of the Elite Ten who held the single greatest amount of authority in the school after the First Seat Tsukasa Eishi and Headmaster Nakiri himself.

The males who recognized her through reputation and fame immediately humbled themselves into silence, reduced to gawking mouth-gaped at the beauty and wondering just what the heck the Second Seat was doing here. Meanwhile the girls could only look away, realizing they were perhaps lightyears from reaching her pinnacle of sensuality and grace.

"Oi oi! Where could he be?" Rindou muttered to herself.

Trying to find Yukihira Souma amongst this crowd would be like trying to find a pickle in a cucumber jar.

With her arms crossed, she looked off. Her long hair covering one of her eyes as the wind picked up speed. With a slender hand, she brushed aside the wayward strands and looked off into the cloudy but sunny blue skies peppered with pink blossom petals.

It was a good scent.

"Yo, hey. Are you busy?" Came a young man's voice from behind.

"Kinda," Rindou said nonchalantly. She didn't bother to look at the voice. She continued to look side to side before her, failing to see any sign of Yukihira Souma. "Whatcha need?" Rindou continued with looking back.

"I'm kind of lost. Do you know where the main administration building is?"

"Yeah it's that way," Rindou said pointing off in the direction of the central administrative cluster of buildings. "Really? You've been a student of here how long and you don't know your way around yet?"

Indeed, most-if not all-students would have been aware of where that place was. Rindou didn't bother to look at who she was talking with.

"Oh sorry. Second time I've been on campus. I'm kind of a transfer student… but thanks. See you around."

"No problem," Rindou answered. Her eyes squinted off into the distance, believing she had spotted him. It turned out to be a flock of ducks. "Darn… how hard could it be to find a transfer student?"

And so Rindou thought on that for a moment.

And thought.

And thought some more.

Before her mind finally clicked.

"Wait a gosh darn sec-"

Rindou turned around and began sprinting towards the main administrative building.

Cursing her poor physique from enjoying the culinary delights offered by the academy and lack of consistent exercise, Rindou reached the administrative building out of breath and sweating.

"Woooo." Entering the super air-conditioned receptionist hall, she saw two desk attendants pointing at a map to a boy standing before them.

"So the dorm you're looking for is all the way here," said the first attendant pointing with an extendable pointing stick.

"That's like across campus!"

"Technically it's across town," the second attendant added. "Most of our students have chauffeurs so it isn't that big of an issue."

"This school…," the boy groaned. "Thanks… I guess I'll get going…"

Rindou's eyes perked up.

 _Found him!_

With a last kick dash, she reached her prey and caught him by the arm.

"Huh?"

"Gotcha!"

The boy looked confused, while the attendants at the receptionists desk looked with a mixture of fear and confusion. "Do I know you?"

"No, but I know about you!"

"You do? Wait… are you a stalker? Actually no, I'm not famous… or am I? Wait! Was it about that speech I made earlier? Are you in my fanclub? Wait! I got a fanclub!?"

Rindou let out of a light sigh.

This guy sure can be dense. "No no no, I'm just interested in you is all, Yukihira Souma."

"Oh. You might want to rephrase that. Otherwise, I might take that the wrong way," he replied with a smile. "Miss… um… what might your name be? Oh! I'm Yukihira Souma, but you kind of already knew that."

Two voices interrupted from behind.

"Wait," said the first attendant.

"You don't know who she is?" said the second attendant.

"Should I?" Souma answered slightly confused. "Are you famous or something?"

Rindou smiled.

"Not really," she answered. Her hand slipped off from Souma's arm and made it's way to his hand. "Come on! You're a transfer student right? I'm your senior, Rindou Kobayashi, but you can call me Rindou-nee! Let's go, I'll give you a grand tour of the campus."

"Really? That'd be a great!"

Souma was relieved that there was someone willing to show him around. Everyone else he'd ask was either too busy, too stuck-up, or generally unhelpful.

"Onwards!" Rindou exclaimed and took her bounty off into open world.

A few hours later, Souma and Rindou were wandering the middle of a forest. Nightfall was upon them as the orange-yellow sky began to darken.

"Uh… Rindou-nee, you sure we aren't lost?"

"Of course not! I've been at this school longer than you have. I totally know where we are!"

"So where are we?"

" _No idea!_ "

"That's the very definition of being lost!"

"Oh come on. Don't be a spoilsport. Look at all this nature! We got bugs… we got frogs… we got snakes…"

"Aren't those vultures circling above us?"

"It just means it's almost time for dinner!"

Speaking of dinner, Rindou's tummy began to rumble from being neglected.

"Are you hungry?"

"You know it," Rindou answered. A wayward spotted mushroom looked very appetizing and perhaps she would have tried one had she been a bit more desperate for nourishment.

"Huh? What's that?" Yukihira pointed off to a structure nearby.

Entering a clearing, they found an abandoned campsite. There was a small fire pit with some leftover wood scattered around. Off to the side was a small open door shelter with cabinets, a sink and a water pump. "Oh wow, it's one of those camping cooking practice sites. Haven't been to one of these in forever," Rindou mused.

Looking around further, she found pots and pans arranged neatly into the cabinet along with some canned goods.

"This school has campsites like this?"

"Obviously," Rindou replied. "How else would one practice camp-style cooking?" The thought of curry sounded so delicious to her right now.

Rindou continued to sift through the ingredients. There was plenty of canned goods and a few perishables. The food pantry had been restock recently, but the selection still wasn't much. There was plenty of canned mackerel though.

"Oh wow, there's even food here too."

"Yup," Rindou answered. Her mind immediately began racing through the various possibilities of what she could make the ingredients on hand. On the other hand, Rindou would have been satisfied with just eating the canned mackeral as is and shoveling rice into her mouth by hand.

"You mind if I cook something?"

Rindou Kobayashi's heart skipped a beat.

"Not at all," came the instantaneous reply.

In dramatic fashion, Yukihira Souma's jacket came off and the headband was undone from his wrist and tied over his forehead. With swift movements Rindou watched as her underclassman begin assembling the various ingredients.

The mackerel was drained, the rice was being cooked, and what looked like a simple soup was being boiled.

Rindou knew better than to ask what he was making. She always loved surprises and wondering what the finished product would look like.

Deciding to the let the boy work, Rindou took a seat at a nearby table and bench. Before long Yukihira Souma approached with two trays balanced on either hand.

The finished meal set was prepared before her.

"Careful! It's hot!"

Rindou giggled. That's the sort of thing that's said at small town restaurants. It's been so long since she's enjoyed the simple fare besides the haute cuisine that so seemed to dominate the discussions of the upperclassmen on campus.

"My my," Rindou took in the smell.

It was the scent of a grilled mackerel burger.

There was no saltiness in the aroma and for preserved fish it smelled delightfully fresh. The mackerel had been drained and pressed and seasoned before grilled. A light sauce had been prepared over it.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Yukihira Souma watching her carefully. He wouldn't begin until she had her first bite and they were both definitely hungry.

"I'll help myself then," Rindou said snapping her disposable chopsticks apart.

With a fleshy piece of mackerel broken off, she took a bite.

A meaty, voluminous delight exploded in her mouth. There was a spiciness from salt and pepper seasoning. There was the light ponzu sauce.

On the side was an egg soup. Taking the bowl with both hands, she took a sip.

The taste of egg, a gentle helping salt, and… dried squid?

"Did we have squid dashi?" Rindou pondered.

"No. But I happened to have some dried squid snacks with me!"

Showing off a bag of dried squid, Rindou smiled. The meal set before her made the best use of ingredients with creativity and simplicity. Often times people would try to dress up canned or preserved foods which only serves to remind the customer of the artificial flavorings.

Instead, Yukihira sought to resurrect the freshness.

She broke into a smile.

"Delicious," Rindou said softly.

Her heartbeat was definitely fluttering.

"Glad you liked it!" And with that, Yukihira began helping himself to his meal set too.

As Rindou began finishing the last of her mackerel burger and gulping the rest of her egg soup, she began to ponder the boy before her. He was definitely a good chef. Perhaps he was one of the top chefs of his generation.

Maybe he could be quite the spectacle.

And here he was, right before her. Only him and her…

Maybe Rindou Kobayashi should claim him?

"Oi… Yukihira Souma…"

"Hm?"

Rindou leaned forward, and reached over. A speck of rice was plucked from Souma's cheek. Not finding delight in waste, Rindou tossed the grain into her mouth before continuing.

"I think I'd like to eat your cooking everyday."

Yukihira Souma blinked before going into a laugh.

"You know, you really know how to make my heartrate go through the roof!"

Rindou snickered.

"That makes two of us," she whispered quietly afterwards.

After the meal, the pair found some tents in a storage shack. Setting up two separate tents, the pair decided to sleep and figure out their way back to civilization tomorrow morning.

But Rindou found her sleep restless and within a few moments, she stood in front of Yukihira's tent.

She peeked in.

"Hey… Yukihira. You awake? You mind we sleep together?"

Souma, who hadn't quite fallen asleep yet, replied,"you know, if you keep saying things like that, I'll definitely start to get the wrong impression."

"I'll take that as a yes." Rindou giggled before entering the tent and and setting her sleeping bag besides Souma's. "Isn't this fun? I don't think I've went camping in… forever. Just us, alone in the woods, in the same tent…"

Souma laughed. "Yeah, it is kind of nice. It really helps you forget about the outside world.

Rindou looked at Souma and smiled, then said no more.

It was just her, and Yukihira Souma, and the tent, and the stars above, and the feminine shadow making it's way to the tent entrance.

Wait.

Feminine figure?

"Uh… you know what's that?"

Rindou pointed at the shadow wandering outside the tent. The sound of dish and plates and pots and pans being moved around could be heard from within the tent.

"No idea…"

"Uh...uh...uh…" Rindou began shivering. Terror gripped her spine. She huddled onto the blanket, raising it high like a shield that could protect her from any and all dangers.

"W-who's out there! Show yourself!" Souma shouted.

The shadowy figure suddenly went into alert. It began making it's way quickly towards the tent entrance.

" _Kya!_ " Rindou dropped her sleeping bag blanket and immediately tossed herself onto Souma, clutching his arm with all her might. "I don't want to die! I don't want to get eaten! Please don't eat me! Please don't! _Kya kya kya_!"

Rindou shuddered and screamed and whimpered and cried.

An elderly woman towered over the two.

"Oi! Lovebirds! You two should know better than to camp without permits out here!"

"Oh thank goodness it's just a groundskeeper," Souma sighed with relief before getting smacked onto the head.

"That's dorm mother to you! I got enough little runts to take care of in the Polar Star Dorm and I don't want to come out to kick out overly-hormone'd kids every night from the campsites!"

"Huh? You're the dorm mother of the Polar Star Dorm? That's where I'm headed!"

"Really now. Well I'm Daimido Fumio! Nice to meet you."

"Yeah! I was told I could apply to enter the dorm and-"

"You gotta cook something… say, did you make that mackerel burger and egg soup left out there?"

"Yeah, that was me."

The woman thought for a second before sighing. She rubbed her chin before sighing, "I sampled some of the leftovers on the bench over yonder… it was even delicious while cold… alright, you're in. And what about you, little miss? You need a place to stay? I gotta say though, I'm rather old fashioned. And I don't like the idea of couples living together in the same dorm...wait-"

The woman eyed her carefully.

"Y-Yes…?" Rindou said nervously. She wasn't used to such scrutinizing attention to her own person.

"Aren't you-"

"I'm a nobody! _Really!_ Haha! I'll get going now. See ya later!"

And with that, Rindou skipped out of the tent.

Souma followed and waved her off.

"Are you sure you know your way back, Miss Kobayashi?" He called out after her.

Rindou flipped her hair and turned around, a bright smile on her lips shining in the cool air under the moonlight.

"Call me Rindou-nee!"

Yukihira Souma laughed.

"I'll call you that the next time we meet."

And so, with a last smile and a nod, Rindou made her way into the depths of the forest.

She walked and walked for a few minutes.

Unlike the journey hours previously, she went in particular directions and took deliberate turns.

Before long, she was on a paved road back to the Academy.

 _Guess we didn't get a chance to spend the night alone… just the two of us_ , Rindou thought sadly as she walked back to her quarters.

 _What a shame we got interrupted._

 _But I suppose there's next time…_

 _Chapter Two Fin_

 _A Tour of Campus_


	3. A Competitive Spirit

**Summary:** _Second Seat of the Elite Ten_ _Rindou Kobayashi has always marched to the beat of her drum. Unconventional, unorthodox, and with a playful persona - Rindou could never find the appeal of a rather boring, cooking school. Nothing held her attention for long, that is, until a particular transfer student came along…_

 **Doesn't it make your Heartbeat Flutter?**

 **Shokugeki no Souma**

 _Chapter Three_

 _A Competitive Spirit_

" _Food_! I smell food!"

Rindou Kobayashi was never one to respect the boundaries of one's property. So when she barged into the Polar Star Dorm Kitchen the morning after the camping venture, she was not surprised that she found two occupants caught in the midst of something interesting.

By the looks of it, they were having a cooking competition.

Which meant…

She could get a chance to taste some good food!

"Oh, Miss Kobayashi. Good morning," Satoshi Isshiki greeted. He was wearing his casual attire consisting of nudity and an apron. The Seventh Seat of the Elite Ten council was perhaps the most normal out of the current roster, but he was also perhaps the most perceptive.

Satoshi Isshiki, friendly his true motives have yet to be revealed, was a person she could trust.

Rindou barred a fang slightly towards him, a gentle gesture asserting her dominance over him.

"Eh? Kobayashi?"

And the other occupant was Souma Yukihira. Rindou puffed her cheeks before taking her hands and pinching the cheeks of Souma Yukihira. With comedic pout, the Second Seat betrayed all expectations of her station and began to berate Souma Yukihira like an older sister would to a misbehaving younger brother.

"I thought I told you to call me Rindou-nee! Say it with me: _Rinnn-douu-neee_. See? Simple simple!"

"Yesh, Window-ree," Souma said through pinched cheeks.

"Good good," Rindou said in satisfaction.

"How interesting. You know Miss Kobayashi, Souma?"

"I only met her a short while ago. She even gave me a tour of the campus… even though we got lost. We camped out half the night but then Fumio found us." Souma glanced towards Rindou and smiled. "But I had a fun time. She seems like a neat person."

Rindou giggled. "Oh stop it you."

"Miss Kobayashi got lost on campus?" Isshiki brought a hand to his chin. "How strange. True there is often a lot of construction projects going on but Miss Kobayashi usually has an excellent sense of direc-"

"So I smelled there was some cooking going on!" Rindou interjected with her cat eyes lasered in on Isshiki.

"Oh yes," Isshiki nodded, taking the hint. "The theme is mackerel. We were actually just discussing the judges but it seems everyone else is still asleep. How wonderful! You can be our judge, Miss Kobayashi."

Rindou flipped her hair before crossing her arms in a haughty manner. Doing her best to raise the seriousness of her tone, she growled in a deep voice, "well, if you insist I must do it… then it's part of my Elite Ten Council duties after all…"

Isshiki covered his mouth to hide a slight snicker.

Souma looked confused. "Am I missing something here?"

"That was a very poor impression of Miss Nakiri, Miss Kobayashi."

"Aw whatever," Rindou said waving off her hand. "The girl's got to lighten up someday."

"Ohhh, so that was an impression of Nakiri." Souma nodded, finally getting the joke.

"Took you long enough," Rindou sighed before plopping herself onto the kitchen chair and sat expectantly. "Alright, I'm ready for breakfast. Feed me, feed me, feed me," Rindou pouted waving her arms up and down in an exaggerated fashion.

"Very well, I'll go first," Isshiki offered.

Placing his dish before her, Rindou took a deep whiff.

"This is my pepper mackerel with a spring cabbage puree garnish. Please enjoy."

 _How strange_ , Rindou thought. _For the Seventh Seat, this is rather tame._

Taking a fork, Rindou took a delicate piece of mackerel off and mopped up a bit of the garnish before taking it all into her mouth. An explosion of white spread throughout her lips and surged down her throat, like a flavor that blowing in.

The midsts of the forest, the freshness of green, and the babbling brooks teeming with mackerel fish.

Rindou let out a soft moan.

"The taste of spring bursts with every bite," she said taking another bite and another. Before long, the sizable piece of mackerel had been reduced to nothing. "Another!"

"I do believe you need to save some room for Yukihira Souma's dish, Miss Kobayashi."

"You know my stomach can handle it."

"Ah, but anyways-it seems Yukihira is restless."

"My turn!"

And with that declaration, Yukihira Souma presented his dish.

"My my…," Rindou muttered in delight. "This is…"

"My revamped Mackerel Onigiri Chazuke!"

A rice ball made of mackerel topped with seaweed was finished a kelp tea. The salty aroma of the tea drifted into the air, reminding Rindou of the soft sea breeze. The warmth of the dish only reminded Rindou more of how cold the mornings had become recently and as her soft hands reached towards the bowl, she felt her blood excite and anticipation rise.

Taking the bowl into her hands, she took a sip. A wave of warmth washed over her.

It was like the chilly morning was all a lie, scrubbed clean the kelp tea's refreshing taste. Nibbling on her tongue was the light undertone of mackerel.

"What a refreshing taste!"

Taking a bite of the rice and mackerel, she found the flesh fish to have been cooked with a unique texture not normally found in Japanese cuisine.

"Is this poele?" Rindou wondered aloud before taking another bite.

"What's poele?"

 _Of all people you should know_ , Rindo thought bemused. _After all, you made this dish using a French technique did you not?_

"It's a French technique," Isshiki explained seeing that Rindou was still eating. "It's where you hold the fish skinside down to make it extra crispy."

"Oh, it's just something I picked up from my pop's"

Isshiki tilted his head and smiled. "Your father must have been well travelled then."

As Rindou finished Yukihira's dish, she placed it down.

"How wonderful…," she smiled.

Patting her belly, Yukihira looked on expectantly.

"So…"

"So…?" Rindou replied, not sure what he was waiting for.

"Who did you think was better?"

 _That's right! I was supposed to be judging!_ Rindou immediately began thinking of which dish was better. _Well Isshiki's dish was definitely more refined but Yukihira's had a certain rustic charm… then again the spring cabbage puree was brilliant but the kelp tea was so much better at waking me up in the morning… ugh… ugh..._

"That's it!"

Yukihira leaned closer. "Who won?"

"It's a draw!"

Rindou smiled. There, with that she didn't have to make a difficult decision! Classic Rindou tactic to avoid responsibility.

Yukihira looked slightly disappointed.

Then, a girl with braids peeked in.

In a soft voice, she called out, "S-Souma! W-We're going to be late for class! We have Chapelle-sensei this m-m-mo-"

Rindou gave the female newcomer with a deathglare. The girl began stuttering with blanked eyes and shrunk to a quarter of her size under the scrutinizing gaze. Rindou had developed a lot of experience with the look using it on the First Seat to bully-no, persuade-him into doing favors for her.

Whoever she was, Rindou didn't take an instant liking to her.

The reminder from the girl suddenly made Souma's mind clicked.

"Oh shoot," Souma cursed. "Tadokoro's right, I think I'm late for class. Got to go! Bye! I'll talk to you later, Kobayashi!"

And with that, Souma ran out the door with the girl trailing him.

"Call me Rindou-nee!" Rindou shouted after him with a bright smile that showed her fangs.

And so, the two seniors classmen were left alone.

Rindou's smile vanished before turning to Isshiki.

"So, why didn't you just make one of your specialities and crush him?" Rindou asked nonchalantly. "It's pretty rare for anyone in the Elite Ten Council to show any mercy. You never know when one of those kids might topple you and take over your seat."

Isshiki chuckled.

"I think I'm a bit tired of living in fear."

Rindou narrowed her eyes. "Cooking determines everything in this school. The strong merely survives here. But only the best gets to use this school's wealth and prestige to enjoy any pleasure of the gourmet world can offer."

"You seem to be taken quite the liking to Yukihira Souma though. Perhaps is he is someone rather… important to you personally?"

Rindou's serious tone dropped and her heartbeat accelerated.

"N-No! Nothing like that! He's just a pet project is all. Just like a dog or a cat! Yeah, like a cat, a little cat! He's just someone I keep around to amuse me and help me get through the boredom of my last year here."

Rindou growled. Leave it to Isshiki Satoshi to make people feel extremely uncomfortable!

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, and what about you? What's your interest in him?"

Isshiki gave a curious smile.

"This school's ideology is that we are here to polish gems and make aspiring chefs realize their true worth. I just thought he was someone worth guiding along."

" _Hmphf._ As long as you pandering him doesn't interfere with how I play with my pet, it doesn't matter to me," Rindou declared. She swung around and began making her way to the door. "I trust you understand I won't tolerate interference with my playthings lightly."

"Of course. Everyone's heard of Rindou Kobayashi's famous possessiveness. The Can-I-Borrow-A-Pencil story from your first year is still talked about by the second years."

Rindou sighed.

"Yeah, everyone's heard about me… I'm famous alright…"

Opening the door, Rindou left without saying goodbye. Isshiki waved her off from a distance as the morning sun shone brightly under the blue sky. The bird songs and morning butterflies graced the gardens flanking the paths back to the main road.

And during her descent, Rindou kept pondering a single thought:

 _Everybody knows all about me... except for him._

And that was how she wanted it, Rindou thought quietly to herself.

 _Chapter Three Fin_

 _A Competitive Spirit_


	4. A Quiet Moment

**Summary:** _Second Seat of the Elite Ten_ _Rindou Kobayashi has always marched to the beat of her drum. Unconventional, unorthodox, and with a playful persona - Rindou could never find the appeal of a rather boring, cooking school. Nothing held her attention for long, that is, until a particular transfer student came along…_

 **Doesn't it make your Heartbeat Flutter?**

 **Shokugeki no Souma**

 _Chapter Four_

 _A Quiet Moment_

Rindou yawned.

Another easy victory came to the youngest member of the Elite Ten Council, Erina Nakiri, as she dominated Kiyoshi Godabayashi, president of the now-defunct Chanko Nanbe Research Society otherwise shortened to Chan RS.

Easy victories are so boring, Rindo thought tightening the hood around her head. An Elite Ten member, a second seat no less, would attract too much attention at such a shokugeki. Yet Rindou held out the match might be of interest to her but there was nothing interesting in seeing a slaughter. Sure the Chan RS had a proud history but now that was shattered, only to be yet another kitchen in service of the Nakiri heiress.

Alas, if only there was someone her age who could know her off her high horse. Now that'd be interesting.

Rindou fumbled about slowly, blending in with the crowds exiting the stadium.

For one who carried the illustrious title of Second Seat of the Elite Ten, Rindou Kobayashi disliked all the formality and pomp. She preferred walking to limousine and as such, it wasn't so strange to see her strolling the campus grounds.

Rindo did, however, dislike all the admirers asking for autographs.

And so, Rindou preferred to stroll through the many hidden paths. The years of experience at the Academy had given her great knowledge of the Academy's innermost secrets.

But Rindou didn't care.

The cold night air and the spring moon waned softly in the sky. How many times as she gazed upon them now? Year after year, each as boring as the one after.

Nothing excited her anymore.

How boring.

The air was fresh but stale. The wind was refreshingly cool yet so sickeningly familiar. Ennui.

And the Academy smelled no different despite the influx of new blood… faint hints of spice, meats, vegetables, and every bounty the Earth had to offered prepared in a multitude of ways…

All of it became just so disgustingly old.

Rindou sighed and turned to Luna and gave an honest wish.

 _Moonlight, oh moonlight, deliver me something… interesting!_

Closing her eyes, Rindou took in a deep breath for a second round of sighing.

The smell of chocolate dipped squid with rock salt assaulted her nose.

"Wh-wha-blegh!"

 _What the heck was that smell!?_

In an instant, Rindou became a hound and tracked the smell. The pungent odor was dense, as if someone was cooking a massive batch of the stuff with total disregard for the sanity of those around him. The sea sweet smell was so easy to trace.

Racing through the forests and the night, Rindou realized the forest was awfully familiar.

And her heartbeat wouldn't rest.

 _That smell… here… it must be him._

What an exciting thought!

Rindou smiled wide.

Leaping over logs and jumping fences, Rindou passed the final hurdle before reaching the clearing.

"Oh hey, Kobayashi-senpai. Want to try one?"

Souma Yukihira was grilling squid over a small grill. Drenched in chocolate and sprinkled in rock salt the squid looked so hilarious. It was as if some kindergartening tried out his first combination of cooking thinking he was a master chef. How stupid. How ridiculous!

But somehow… how tempting!

"I'll try one," Rindou said plucking one of the squid sticks. The squid had been grilled hold with the entire triangular head dipped in chocolate. There was no hesitation as Rindou took her first bite.

It was like a kraken had wrapped its mighty tentacles around her warship in the Chocolate Sea.

"Well? How is it? Pretty bad huh!"

Rindou munched and munched.

"It's awful," Rindou laughed. "It's just so awful and just plain bad!"

Rindou couldn't stop laughing.

"Haha. I figured. Oh well. Maybe next time I'll try using crunched peanuts and stuff the head with marshmallows… and then I can deep fry it! Yeah yeah… that combination might work…" Yukihira placed a hand over his chin as his mind went into thinking of his next outrageous combination.

As he thought, Rindou kept eating. A light smile still on her lips.

"I can't remember the last time I've tasted something so bad…"

For the past few years, she had tasted nothing but excellent food. And even the subpar meals served to her weren't terribly poor. But this was the first time in a long… long, long long… while… that she had tasted anything evenly as remotely terrible as this!

"What made you want to make something so bad?" Rindou asked without thinking.

"Huh? Oh. No reason really. It's kind of fun really."

"Fun? Making bad stuff is fun?"

Yukihira looked at her like she was crazy.

"Isn't trying to cook something new half the fun?"

Rindou smiled from ear to ear like a Cheshire cat.

What a refreshing change from the idiots always spouting on about haute cuisine. Rindou tongue slide over the long wooden stick. She slide her tongue down the shaft. Her fangs gently nibbling on the stubborn bits of flesh before she gently kissed it. Every bit of salty stuff licked clean from Yukihira's squid stick.

Even though it was so bad… it was actually kind of good!

"Oh well," Yukihira shrugged. "Another failure. It's so bad, I can't even laugh anymore!" Yukihira exclaimed with a smile.

It was a smile that made Rindou's heart race faster.

 _Maybe my last year here wouldn't be so boring if he was around…_

Rindou reached for another chocolate-dipped squid stick before Yukihira spoke.

"Say… Kobayashi-senpai…"

"Hm?"

"I've got a question."

"Shoot. And it's Rindou-nee!" Rindou exclaimed gently punching Yukihira in the shoulder.

"What's a shokugeki?"

"It's a way of settling disputes around here. You get an odd number of judges and each side wager something. Usually it's something stupid like club funding but you can also wager buildings and school property. It's actually pretty boring if-wait. Why are you asking about shokugekis?"

Rindou stopped eating. She looked at Yukihira.

"Oh. I got challenged to one. I'm representing the Don RS. If we win we'll get more funding."

"Against who? What's the theme?"

"Oh. Nikumi. Her name's… uh… Ikumi Mito I think? She wanted to do a meat theme one and I wanted to do a Don theme one so we agreed to do a meat don one."

Rindou's heartbeat quickened.

A shokugeki? A shokugeki with Ikumi Mito? The prodigy from the Mito Family of meat masters? And Yukihira's in a shokugeki against her with the theme of meat don? And he's a freshman! A freshmen in a shokugeki? Usually they don't have anything to wager… nothing except their enrollmen-

" _What did you wager!?"_

It came out like a scream of a girl who was about to lose her favorite toy.

"Oh. If I lose I get expelled." Yukihira shrugged. "No big deal."

A piece of squid fell out of Rindou's chocolate covered mouth. Her heartbeat stopped.

 _Chapter Four Fin_

 _A Quiet Moment_


	5. A Negotiation

**Summary:** _Second Seat of the Elite Ten_ _Rindou Kobayashi has always marched to the beat of her drum. Unconventional, unorthodox, and with a playful persona - Rindou could never find the appeal of a rather boring, cooking school. Nothing held her attention for long, that is, until a particular transfer student came along…_

 **Doesn't it make your Heartbeat Flutter?**

 **Shokugeki no Souma**

 _Chapter Five_

 _A Negotiation_

"M-Miss Kobayashi! You can't enter!"

"Outta my way, servant!"

"Th-that's secretary to you!"

Rindou brushed aside Hisako Arato, the secretary to the youngest of the Elite Ten.

The private sanctuary was hidden within a corner of the campus. It was essentially a mansion, one of many within the semi-feudal state that is the Tootsuki Culinary Academy. But even amongst the many mansions, it stood as one of the most luxuriously staffed and maintained. Extensive gardens and marble statues and paintings adorned the exterior and interior.

Rindou marched past all of that.

"Miss Kobayashi please! I do not want to call security, b-but-" Hisako continue to plea. The mild-mannered secretary was overprotective but very respectful, especially to her upperclassmen. It was no surprise she was hesitate to release the dogs on Rindou. A direct dispute between the Second Seat and the Tenth Seat would result in a disastrous conflict for the Academy or at the very least a major diplomatic incident.

But Rindou didn't care.

When Rindou stood before the last set of doors separating her and her intended target, Hisako pleaded one last time.

The secretary's voice fell on Rindou's deaf ears.

Rindou Kobayashi entered Erina Nakiri's office.

"Hm?" Erina Nakiri placed some documents she was perusing onto her desk. "So that was what that commotion was about," Erina sighed. "You know, Miss Kobayashi, you could have just asked for an appointment instead of marching through like you usually do…"

"But where's the fun in that?" Rindou shrugged, bearing her fangs.

"So what brings you here? You usually keep to yourself."

"I thought it'd be nice to pay a visit to my precious underclassmen every once in awhile. You know, build all that student-to-student bonding the director keeps going off about."

"Indeed…" Erina sighed.

Then a soft hand was placed on her shoulder, followed by a tight pull from a full arm length. The sensation was so strange and unusual that Erina let loosed a soft " _eeep!_ "

Rindou had pulled Erina into a tight half-hug.

"W-what are you doing!?" Hisako stood frozen. Normally she would beat off anyone who dared even attempt to lay a finger on Erina, but in this instance it was Rindou Kobayashi. And she wasn't one who could be so easily beaten off without repercussions. "P-Please get off of Lady Erina! It's unbecoming!"

"S-stop…" Erina whimpered.

The proximity to Rindou's face was dangerously close. Erina despised contact with anyone, and Rindou kobayashi especially. Their cheeks breath were mingling together.

Out of the corner of her eye, Rindou spotted a blushing Hisako with a slight drool escaping the corner of her lips.

"Come on little one. A little skinship never hurt anyone…" Rindou's lips lightly grazed Erina's ear. "Besides, aren't we friends? At the very least close acquaintances. You can do lil ol' me a favor or two right? I'll definitely owe you one. At least hear me out"

"Alright, alright I'll hear it… just get off me…"

"No problem."

And Rindou released her precious hostage.

Erina gasped for air, having held her breath for so long. It took a moment before Hisako snapped out of her trance and rushed to her master's side with a bottle of water and a towel to wipe off the sweat. Collapsing back into her armchair, Erina took a swig of the water bottle before turning her attention to Rindou.

"So what is it that you want?" Erina sighed. She really couldn't stand her senior's specialty brand of teasing.

Rindou smiled.

"I want you to get your underling, the Ikumi girl, to drop her challenge to Yukihira Souma."

Erina raised an eyebrow before giving an instantaneous reply.

"No."

"Ehhh? You aren't even going to even consider it?"

"Absolutely not," Erina replied with her arms crossed.

Rindou tilted her head. "Any particular reason why?"

"Because my subordinate was tasked to clear some space for a new kitchen I was planning to build. And my subordinate is fulfilling her duties on my behalf. Therefore, this is of no concern to you." Erina narrowed her eyes. Rindou ran a hand through her hair. There had to be more to this…

Okay, well the buddy-buddy-favor ploy failed. Time to negotiate.

"Oi oi, come on. You usually do me these small favors… hey tell ya what. I'll give a couple of acres and you can build _two_ new kitchen buildings, okay?"

Erina huffed and turned her face away. "No."

"Okay, okay… how about I throw a few vintage cookbooks I got laying around? And I'll give you some prime real estate right in the main plaza! You'll have a foothold in the center of the academy. You know that land is usually held by the top three!"

One of Erina's eyes cracked open. "Why are you so desperate to get this challenge cancelled?"

Rindou furrowed her brow. "Can't I take an interest in preserving the great Don Research Society?"

Erina leaned forward and rested her chin on her interlocked fingers. She waved Hisako to exit, who did so quietly and quickly. Before closing the door behind her, Hisako cast one long glance at the two Elite Ten members before shutting the door.

"So what is the real reason, Miss Kobayashi? Why does such a minor shokugeki like this matter so much?"

"Because I'm also a philanthropist at heart," Rindou smiled.

"I can't understand why you're doing this."

 _Why was she doing this?_ Rindou wondered to herself. _Oh. That's right._

Some people had forgotten an unwritten rule within the Tootsuki Elite Ten… the youngest member of the council no less. Rindou answered Erina question: " _I don't like it when people mess with my toy._ "

Erina glared at Rindou. She continued to glare. Then, as the gears in Erina's eyes began to grind and turn, they slowly widened. And widened some more.

"A-are you s-saying th-that Y-Yukihira i-is your t-t-t-toy!?"

Rindou crossed her arms and nodded.

"He's my property."

Erina's face became bright red. "H-how shameless!"

Rindou scratched her head. "Shameless? What's so shameless about it?" Rindou learned forward, presenting her full face and bust to Erina. "I don't want you messing with him. Got it? So why don't you be a good girl and take my offer, _hm_?"

Erina shook her head.

"N-no!"

"And why not?"

Erina's blushing had struck fire engine red.

"I'm not going to let you have him," a small Erina answered in a whimper.

"Huh? Could barely hear you," Rindou said leaning closer with a hand cupped around her ear. "Speak louder please. I think you were about to cancel the shoku-"

"The shokugeki will go on!" Erina exclaimed. "And I promise you that Mito Ikumi will get that Yu-Yu-Yuki-… _ugh_ -that stain upon Tootsuki Culinary Academy expelled!"

Rindou blinked. Negotiations failed.

"Uh… say, how about we dial that down a bit…"

Erina shook her head. Her eyes were burning with fury.

"The petty Don Research Society will fade from the Academy registries and maps. And I'll be sure to personally evict _that man_ from the campus myself once Ikumi wins."

Rindou gritted her teeth. There was no talking to her about this. So be it. With a distinct humpf contrasting the smirk on Erina Nakiri's face, Rindou exited pushing aside the door with both hands. Hisako nervously closed the door behind her with a thump.

Out in the gardens under the cloud sky, Rindou saw the bright afternoon sun.

 _The day's still young_ , Rindou thought to herself. _I better go help Yukihira..._

With an excited heartbeat and a skip in her step, Rindou set off for the Don Research Society.

 _Chapter Five Fin_

 _A Negotiation_


	6. A Breath of Encouragement

**Summary:** _Second Seat of the Elite Ten_ _Rindou Kobayashi has always marched to the beat of her drum. Unconventional, unorthodox, and with a playful persona - Rindou could never find the appeal of a rather boring, cooking school. Nothing held her attention for long, that is, until a particular transfer student came along…_

 **Doesn't it make your Heartbeat Flutter?**

 **Shokugeki no Souma**

 _Chapter Six_

 _A Breath of Encouragement_

The Don Research Society used to be a powerhouse organization. That was during an era where Japanese cuisine was exported throughout the world alongside popular styles such as sushi and tempura. But that era has since long ended. As the years wore one, loss after loss in the shokugeki arena left the Don RS deprived of members and funding.

And such is the reason why it is in it's current state, located in a derelict building in a nowhere corner of Tootsuki Culinary Academy.

" _Hellooo_ , Don RS!" Rindou exclaimed as she burst through the door, nearly blowing it out of the hinges.

Three pair of eyes looked at her.

The first pair was the most exaggerated and belonged to someone that Rindou neither knew or cared about. Judging by his pompadour, a fading fad from an old era of the Don RS, he was most likely the current head of the group. Along with his ridiculous hair, he sported an intense shocked expression with his eyes bulging out of his sockets.

The second pair of eyes belonged to a girl who was shrunken-no, _cowering_ behind a chair. Maybe she was surprised by the sudden entrance or maybe she was intimidated by Rindou's aura. Whatever it was, Rindou paid little heed to a minor nuisance.

The last pair of eyes belonged to _him_.

He had a goofy grin with a headband and an apron tied around his waist. He was at a stove, as expected, grilling some low quality meat. The scent exposed Rindou that there was plenty of onions mixed in.

"A meat don… and judging by the onions, it must be that… so a _Chaliapin Steak Don_?"

"Hey! You got it Miss Kobayashi! Must smell pretty good, right?"

"Yup yup!" Rindou agreed before digging an elbow into Yukihira's rib. "And it's Rindou-nee!"

"Ow, sorry," Yukihira apologized before turning his attention back to the cooking station.

Rindou swung an arm around Yukihira. "So tell me how are you going to take this to the _next_ level?" Taking a deep whiff, the aroma of sweating onions caused Rindou to feel an intense pang of heat throughout her skin. It was a pleasurable sensation, like an electrical force of savory surging throughout her nerves. Rindou licked her lips.

She felt a need to _strip_.

"Dunno yet. This is my prototype. I'll think of something eventually," Yukihira answered with a smile. Rindou patted his back as a sign of encouragement, having completely forgotten the other two in the room.

"H-Hey… isn't that…" The pompadour whispered to the little girl.

"Y-yeah… that's her…" The girl whimpered.

"Wh-what's she doing here!?"

"I-I d-d-don't k-k-know!" The girl in pigtails scurried away, terrified of even her shadow in her state of shock.

Rindou shot a glare to silence them both.

" _Eeeep!_ "

Rindou sighed. People are easily demoralized in her presence. It shouldn't come as any surprise to her at this point but Rindou always felt a bit annoyed by it. They speak of you as a thing, a force of nature or the result of some demonic blood-ritual summoning, instead of a person.

And that sort of thing gets tiring.

Because, in the end, Rindou was just a girl who loved food.

"So do you know what you're up against, Yukihira?"

"Mito Ikumi," said the boy with the pompadour. He sported an awkward peach fuzz that made him look older than he actually was. Maybe he was held back a few grades but never messed up hard enough to be expelled? "She's the heiress to the Mito Conglomerate which controls almost all the meat in Japan."

"And do you fellas know how she's comin' at ya?"

"With A-5 beef or something. Apparently the meat is so good it's drinkable." Yukihira's mouth slightly opened and drooled a bit. "That actually sounds delicious… do you guys think she'd let us try some?"

"S-Souma! Now isn't the time to be thinking of that! If you lose, you're expelled," the girl in pigtails said with quivering lips and shaking hands. Rindou raised an eyebrow at the girl. She's already on a first name basis with Yukihira?

"Then it's simple, Tadokoro," Yukihira said without looking back. "I just gotta win."

"It's not that simp-"

" _It is indeed as simple as that_ , Yukihira Souma," Rindou agreed, interrupting Tadokoro. "Do you need any help?"

"Nah, I think we're good."

"Did you forget we blew all of the Don RS funding ingredients?" the pompadour man bemoaned. "Not to mention the match is tomorrow."

Yukihira rubbed his chin.

"We still got all night!" Yukihira said in a positive beat.

"Well it's not like I planned on sleeping tonight…," the pompadour man mumbled.

"I can't sleep when I'm this nervous."

"And this all nighter of yours isn't going to mean anything if we have no more ingredients. Did you forget we blew all of the Don RS budget today?"

"Seems the we're running short of funds… It's alright, I'll check to see if there's a sale in the supermarket," Souma decided before taking off his apron. "I've got some connections and some savings in the bank. Better get going before it closes. I'll clean up here. Tadokoro, mind going with Konishi to the market to scope out the meat? I'll catch up."

Tadokoro nodded before taking off, leaving the Don RS president named Konishi following along in haste.

The door to the Don RS closed.

Rindou sighed. "You know Yukihira. If you'd like, I could lend you some money."

Yukihira looked at Rindou with a quizzical look before smiling. "Thanks for the offer, but no."

Rindou stepped closer. "Then how about I make it a gift? It'll only be a few thousand yen…" It was chump change littering Rindou's pockets after all - crumpled bills from _generous and inebriated_ customers. "To be honest, it'd be a great favor for me to accept it."

"I can't. But thank you. You're very generous, Miss Kobaya-" Rindou glared furiously. " _Rindou-nee_ ," Yukihira corrected.

"And why not?"

Yukihira did a faux flex of his biceps. "I want to win this with my power and the Don RS's power!"

The proclamation left a smile on Rindou's lips.

"Really? Is that so? How noble…"

Rindou stepped closer. Step by step she advanced.

"Then perhaps I'll offer some encouragement?"

Placing a warm hand on Souma's cold cheek, he saw him shudder a bit before she leaned a slightly bit forward. Her eyes were focused on his cheek and ear. She ignored his eyes, following her face. Would she nibble him there? Plant a kiss here?

Kobayashi Rindou blew over Yukihira Souma's cheek.

With a deep breath, she decided to go for the ear. With her parting lips, she whispered in a voice so soft it may not have happened at all: _good luck, Yukihira._

Slipping her hand away from his cheek, Rindou tiptoed back. "I hope you liked the encouragement," Rindou said with a smile.

"Suits your style," said Yukihira, returning the smile. "I'll win for sure. Hope to see you at the match tomorrow, Rindou-nee!" he declared before running off into the setting sun hurrying towards the supermarket for ingredients. Rindou yawned, thinking of going to sleep and making sure to set her alarm to wake up in time for the match tomorrow. As a heavy sleeper, it wouldn't be strange if Rindou overslept into the afternoon.

 _What a dense idiot…_ , Rindou thought with a sigh as she skipped along home. _But that what makes him so interesting._

 _Chapter Six Fin_

 _A Breath of Encouragement_


	7. A Celebration in the Evening

**Summary:** _Second Seat of the Elite Ten_ _Rindou Kobayashi has always marched to the beat of her drum. Unconventional, unorthodox, and with a playful persona - Rindou could never find the appeal of a rather boring, cooking school. Nothing held her attention for long, that is, until a particular transfer student came along…_

 **Doesn't it make your Heartbeat Flutter?**

 **Shokugeki no Souma**

 _Chapter Seven_

 _A Celebration in the Evening_

"I'm perfectly * _hic_ * c-cap-ca-capable walking home * _hic_ * alone, _Yukihiiiraaa_ ~!"

Rindou Kobayashi was assisted out of the Polar Star Dorm. Souma had a heavy arm draped across his shoulder. Rindou, flushed red from rice juice and treats, had a bottle (courtesy of Sakaki) still glued to her hand. She took generous swings before offering Souma some, her breath laced with a stingy scent.

"You were really great today, Souma! With all that… meat _*hic*_ "

Souma thought back to his first shokugeki victory earlier in the day. He had prevailed over the Meat Heiress with his own meat dish and managed to save the Don Research Society. All in all it was a good day.

"Thanks. I'm glad you dropped by for the celebration."

"Wouldn't missss it," Rindou slurred. She held up a bottle of Sakaki's rice juice. "Want a sip?"

"No thanks," Souma declined. "I gotta get you home safe and sound."

" _Why~_. Can I stay oh-vuh?" Rindou slurred and pouted before chugging another gulp.

"Rules are rules," Souma sighed. The master of the dorm, Fumio, would not tolerate any outsiders past a certain hour without prior approval. Given that it was still a school night, she found the idea of having a party so late intolerable for everyone's grades. The grades of the Polar Star Dorm weren't just a reflection of themselves, she emphasized, they were a reflection of the dorm and the dorm mother.

Hence, Fumio told everyone to hit the hay while Souma being the one who originally invited Rindou over in the first place was tasked with bringing her home.

Souma didn't mind losing an hour or so of sleep over it. Late nights were the norm in the restaurant business.

What he did mind was Rindou's tendency to want to strip because the rice juice was making her overheat.

"It's sooo hot _*hic*_ ," Rindou said undoing another button. Souma frowned at the predicament. "I want to roll around free~"

 _Better get her home quick_ , Souma thought. _Or else I might get arrested… or worst! Expelled!_

And so, Souma made the trek towards the central dorms which was quite a walk in it of itself.

"Hey hey! Slow down, Yu-Yukih-* _hic*_ -ra!"

"Huh? Why?"

Rindou removed her arm from Souma before stretching out an arm. "Hand."

Souma placed a hand on Rindou's palm. Like a venus flytrap, Rindou's fingers sealed shut, trapping Souma's hand into hers. "Ha! Caught ya!"

"Was I trying to be caught?" Souma wondered aloud before Rindou ruffled up his hair.

"You're a good dog. I can teach you some tricks yet!" Rindou said with a smile. Pulling Souma away from the lit path to the central dorms, Rindou whispered. "Come, come! We're going to find a place to have _*hic*_ fun!"

Souma, not knowing any better, followed along.

Going through bushes and shrubs and tiptoeing on some stones to traverse a creek, Rindou arrived into a clearing. All the while, she dragged Souma along with her and it was Souma's job to keep up with Rindou-nee not for Rindou-nee to slow down for him.

Panting and out of breath, Souma was surprised Rindou retained so much agility despite all the food and drink from earlier.

Releasing Souma's hand, Rindou allowed him to catch his breath.

"Where does that all go?" Souma asked through his exhales and inhales.

Rindou patted her stomach. "The Eighth Gate of Hell! My stomach! Haha _*hic*_!"

"More like a portal to a different dimension," Souma muttered to himself. Rindou must have put away enough food to feed an army and drank enough rice juice to keep that army floating in a pool.

Rindou landed a soft punch onto the top of his head.

"Seems the dog's got a little bite to go with that bark," Rindou said with a smile. "Well! Here we are!"

"Where are-"

Souma's answer came in the gigantic structure before him.

It was an imposing building of red and gold. Flood lights keep the entire building lit. The architecture looked familiar, like a Japanese shrine or the traditional buildings but more… imperial. There was a sense of overwhelming power in the bold splashes of crimson and trimmed with gold. Statues of animals - lion dogs, roosters, dragons - adorned the roof top corners and etches of classical artwork dotted the walls.

Rindou embraced the cold air before her before letting out a big burp.

"Ah! That hit the spot. The hiccuping was getting annoying," Rindou said rubbing her nose.

"Th-this is-"

"That's right! The Chinese Cuisine Society! Come on, I know a guy. He'll treat us."

Rindou waltzed up the steps, Souma following along.

 _Knock. Knock._

A booming voice chorus of voices greeted them. The doors swung open quickly, revealing a small army of bald men wearing traditional Chinese silk shirts. They resembled some sort of gangsters with scowls and glares that could stab a man's eye out like chopsticks.

Souma stumbled backwards. He wasn't ready for a fight with a bunch of mainlander hooligans.

"WHO DARES DISTURB THE CHINESE CUL-Oh, it's Rindou-nee!"

 _Ri-Rindou-nee!?_ Souma's mouth gaped open. "You know these people?"

"O' course!"

"Rindou-nee? Rindou-nee is here?" A baldie whispered.

"What a pleasant surprise! Someone tell Boss!" Another one said.

"Boss! Rindou-nee is here! I think she's here for Board Game Night!" Cheers followed the declaration.

"Hey what's up!" Rindou greeted. Everyone stood in awe at her. "No no. I'm not here for board night. I got pretty embarrassed the last time we played Monopoly!"

"B-but Rindou-nee! Your actions on that day serve as an example to us all! B-Boss was so touched you let him have racecar while you took the top hat! He cried himself to sleep that night because of your magnanimity!"

"Who cried what now?"

A short yellow haired man in a white silk shirt appeared.

" _Boss!_ " The group of bald men said in unison. They all immediately bowed. "Rindou-nee has come to pay a visit."

"Yeah. I can see that." The little man looked at Rindou. "What you here for?"

Rindou lept from across the room bringing the Boss into a bear hug. "Can't I say hi to my precious little underclassman? And where's my customary greeting of ' _Rindou-nee_ '? Huh? Huh!?"

Souma wasn't sure what was weirder: the group of bald Chinese gang members crying and setting up a small table in the middle of the room or the fact that Rindou was manhandling a midget who looked to the a mafia don of Chinese cooking gangsters.

"Lemme go! Lemme go!" The tiny boss man squirmed.

"Fine, Kuga. Here you go." The little man named Kuga adjusted his clothes before looking at the other guest to his establishment.

"Who's the civilian?"

"Don't you know? This is Yukihira Souma! He defeated the Mito girl from Erina's faction."

The Boss named Kuga approached. "That's nothing special." Rindou slapped the back of Kuga's head. "B-but welcome to the Chinese Cuisine Society," Kuga said between his gritting teeth. "I am President Kuga. These are my men."

"We are the Chinese Cuisine Society!"

Souma leaned in and whispered: "Do they always have to do that?"

Kuga leaned forward and whispered back: "I've told them to stop. They just do it now."

Rindou interrupted the pair. "Hey hey! So I'm here for a late night snack. Whatcha got for us?"

Kuga raised an eyebrow. "You want me to make a late night snack? Now?"

"Yeah! You owe me one… or a dozen! Can't remember! Doesn't matter. What does matter is that I'm hungry and I'm craving something Chinese. So I thought to myself 'Rindou, isn't there someone you know who can cook Chinese?' And I thought to myself 'Gee-Golly! There is!' And so here I am!"

"Fascinating," Kuga said boredly. "Why don't you have Yukihira-whatever cook for you? It's not hard to make a stir fry."

Rindou frowned. "I'm sure he can make a _good_ stir fry. But I want an _amazing_ stir fry."

Kuga sighed, clearly uninterested in cooking at the moment. "I'll just have some of men prepare-"

Rindou shot Kuga a death glare.

"-the kitchen station so I can get to work on that stir-fry!" Kuga then stepped backwards. "Uh, men! Set the tables!"

"Already done, Boss!"

"Then entertain them! I don't know!" And Kuga ran off, wanting to get away from Rindou's death glare.

"That turned out great," Rindou smiled. "Let's take a seat, Yukihira."

They took a seat on a table with a white cloth. A lazy suzy, a rotating glass serving table, was placed in the center. Porcelain bowls were placed before them. There were tiny dishes of hot sauce and soy sauce. There were wooden chopsticks and porcelain spoons.

"Uh, do you always do that to people you know?" Souma asked.

"What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing at all," Souma sighed. "So is his Chinese food really amazing?" Souma was interested. Chinese cuisine is famed for being one of the most famed cuisines in the world alongside the likes of French and Turkish.

A tray of boiled peanuts was placed before them and Rindou immediately set on devouring them. Souma picked a single peanut.

"You bet!" Rindou said her mouth stuffed with peanuts. "He is the Eighth Seat of the Elite Ten after all"

Souma nearly choked on his peanut.

"He is?"

Rindou smiled. "You'll see."

Before long, Kuga returned. Two steaming plates of food in his hands.

"Here you go. Stir Fry. Go nuts. Now if you'll excuse me I have a board game I need to dominate." A plate of rather normal looking stir fry was placed down before Souma and Rindou. The only thing notable about it was that it seemed to have quite a bit of hot sauce placed into it with peppers and a red undertone clearly visible.

"Have fun and thanks for the meal!" Rindou waved back at him.

Souma picked through the stir fry. It seemed so ordinary and bland. The smell was spicy but it didn't seem too exciting. There was beef and vegetables like carrots and peapods shrewn in. Maybe he just wanted to cook something to satisfy Rindou and put in no effort?

When Souma looked up, Rindou was halfway done.

"Hurry up before it gets cold," Rindou scolded.

Souma sighed and took some beef and placed it into his mouth.

A burst of heat and intensity blasted through his tongue.

 _Holy-_

Souma wanted to scream. He felt tears form his eyes. His tongue was burning. His lips was burning. His mouth and and body was burning and heating up. Even though it was night and the air was cool on his skin, he was sweating profusely like he was in the middle of a desert. He wanted water… he wanted something to cool his burning gums… and yet…

...he didn't.

The heat was burning and excruciating but still… pleasant.

Why. Why did it burn so much?

 _And why couldn't he stop eating it?_

When he was finished, he could tell his lips were puffed and red from the spicy. Yet Souma felt immensely satisfied. He fanned himself with his hands and took a gulp of iced water, feeling the soothingness of his lips returning. The numbing sensation was euphoric.

Rindou leaned forward, her hands crossed.

"How was an Elite Ten's casual cooking?"

Souma's eyes widened. Of course the Eight Seat Kuga wouldn't waste too much effort on a snack. Yet, without any effort in almost no time at all he managed to prepare an amazing dish. It looked so simple yet it was satisfying and delicious.

"It was great," Souma admitted.

Rindou smiled to herself. This was her way of motivating people. Showing them who they could become and what challenges await them. She didn't need to surround herself with people who skirt away from challenge and power. She wanted - no, she needed people who were willing to grasp it.

Even if it meant they might destroy themselves getting there.

Standing up, Rindou grabbed a clay jar on the way out. "Tell your boss I took some of his special stock!" She yelled on her way out.

Kuga, apparently having heard her, yelled back "You know that's for cooking and not drinking right?"

"Ignore him," Rindou muttered to Souma as they made their way out. "He's a spoilsport."

Returning to the main path, Rindou and Souma skipped over bushes and shrubs and stones once again. They made it to the main road and walked through the dimly lighted path in the middle of Tootsuki Culinary Academy's prestigious and expensive dormitories. Some might call them mansions. Others call them a small. To Souma, they represented a world he wasn't a part of.

"This is amazing," Souma admitted. He didn't get many opportunities to come here. The campus was far too large for casual visits on a busy schedule. The architecture gave a western feel of wealth and expansiveness.

"It's _*hic*_ alright. My pad is _*hic*_ down thatta way," Rindou said stumbling about.

Souma wasn't sure what Rindou's definition of a pad was but this certainly wasn't it.

It was a small (relatively speaking to the buildings around it) cottage. It looked old fashion, like the sort out of a medieval European fairy tale. It had a rustic charm like it was built in an era far before its time. There was a white picket fence and a green lawn with a flower bed surrounding it.

Rindou fumbled for a key to the door.

"It's _*hic*_ somewhere… oh! Must have let my keys on the table again." Rindou reached down her vest and unbuttoned shirt and retrieved a key. "Always keep a spare!"

Opening the door, the lights lit on automatically.

"Well, my job is done," Souma declared. He turned around, preparing for a jog home.

" _Is it?_ "

Souma turned around. Rindou leaned against the door frame. She appeared flushed red from heat and appeared vulnerable. She wiped some sweat from her brow. She slipped her school uniform jacket off and tossed it onto her couch.

"Are you okay?"

"I just… feel hot… I think I'd feel better if you helped me a little... " Rindou kicked off her shoes. "I feel dizzy. I don't _*hic*_ feel so good… I don't know if I can make it to bed… and sleeping in sweaty clothes is no good..."

Souma smiled. "I think you might want to take tomorrow off."

Rindou smiled back. "I think that's a good idea…"

"Do you have enough supplies here?"

"I have food, but I don't think I'll have the strength to go to the pharmacy..."

Rubbing his chin, Souma thought of an idea. "Why don't I go to the pharmacy for you? I can pick up some medicine there. If you want I can make you some porridge."

"Poo poo on the porridge. I want meat!" Rindou pouted cutely.

Souma sighed before another bright idea lit his bulb. "Oh I know! I can ask Nikumi!"

"Niku-who?"

"Oh, the girl I had a shokugeki with today. She's a meat expert. I'm sure she'll know what's some good meat I can use for a someone's who's ill. That's a great idea!" Souma's eyes glistened with excitement at the prospect of learning more about cooking.

"That's great…"

Souma nodded and smiled before waving himself off.

"See you tomorrow!"

"See you tomorrow...," Rindou returned with a weak wave.

Rindou sighed. She picked up her shoes and organized them neatly. She folded her jacket and went to her room. In a series of swift motions, she had her clothes hung and ready to be dry cleaned. After a quick shower, brushing her teeth, and blowdrying of her hair, Rindou tucked herself into bed wearing her favorite pajamas.

Rindou chugged a bottle of water. She had built up a superb tolerance of alcohol from chugging rice vinegar. She thought it tasted sweet. She doesn't lose posture or control easily. She doesn't get drunk.

It wasn't a hassle to get herself to bed. It wasn't a hassle to change her clothes or bathe. She could even tuck herself in. She wasn't weak.

She could easily order the pharmacy to drop off the medicine at her home. It wasn't a big deal.

She could definitely feed herself. She's the Second Seat of the Elite Ten after all.

Rindou sighed before curling up underneath the blankets.

But maybe she was selfish.

And maybe she wasn't honest.

And certainly there were things to say about how she aggressively shows interest in people… or persons… or a certain person...

In any case, at least there was a small consolation: _he'll be here tomorrow._

 _Chapter Seven Fin_

 _A Celebration in the Evening_


	8. A Cow

**Summary:** _Second Seat of the Elite Ten_ _Rindou Kobayashi has always marched to the beat of her drum. Unconventional, unorthodox, and with a playful persona - Rindou could never find the appeal of a rather boring, cooking school. Nothing held her attention for long, that is, until a particular transfer student came along…_

 **Doesn't it make your Heartbeat Flutter?**

 **Shokugeki no Souma**

 _Chapter Eight_

 _A Cow_

"This is a cow!" Rindou proudly proclaimed with the enthusiasm of a game show hostess.

" _Mooo!_ "

It was indeed a cow. To be specific, it was a bovine of the classic Holstein Friesian cattle stock. In layman terms or people who do not know how to use popular search engines starting with G-, it was the famous white and black spotted cows - often called 'dairy moo cows!' by Rindou. It was fat, with a set of pink udders, and a healthy shade of fur.

"I can see that it's a cow," Souma said. His head tilted. While it was true this wasn't his first time seeing a live cow, it was the first time he's seen a girl present one in front of the Polar Star Dorm.

" _Moooooo!_ "

 _Ding! Ding! Ding!_

The cow even came with a bell.

Souma kept his hands in his sweater pockets. "Okay, I've got to ask. What is the cow here for?"

"You remember how I said I wanted meat?"

"That was months ago…" Souma began counting the months off on his fingers. "Like three and a half months ago."

"Actually that was yesterday!" Rindou corrected with a deathly smile. Souma nodded in agreement. "So, I thought to myself, 'Gee Rindou, I want meat…' so where else better to get it than from a cow? Well! Here it is! Shipped straight from Germany this morning!"

Souma's eyes deadpanned. "You ordered a cow airlifted all the way from Europe overnight because you wanted _meat_?"

Rindou began fondling the fatty sides of the cow like she was feeling out an underclassman ample breasts during a hot springs retreat.

"Look at this. Look at this meat! Meat! _I want this in my belly_ ," Rindou hissed. She licked her lips.

Souma sighed. "Rindo-nee… I don't think that airlifting a Holstein co-"

"Dairy moo cow," Rindou corrected.

Souma continued. "You just ordered a _dairy moo cow_ , probably one that requires a lot of certain special flight conditions and accommodations, to be airlifted from Germany. You did this overnight. You did this on literally hours of notice. There are flight paths and landing zone permits and hangars to rent… and you just ordered a cow overnight like it was some _internet one-day delivery sweater._ "

Rindou pressed a finger to her lips. "Actually it's more like half a day since it's morning right now…"

Souma crossed his arms and accepted it. "Rindo-nee has a monstrous amount of influence. I am impressed." Souma then began stretching and cracking his back before looking at his watch. "I guess I'll skip my morning jog. Classes are going to start in an hour and I gotta get changed. I still haven't gotten my scooter license..."

Souma turned and began walking back to the dormitory.

Rindou stopped him with a light touch on the arm.

His face turned to meet hers. Then, like a lightning instant, the distance between their lips were less than a handful of centimeters apart. Rindou's sweet honey breath was lingering my Souma's tongue and drifted into his nose. The imagery of honey-bees gently accosting him while he ran nude through a field of daffodils filled his mind.

 _I wonder what she tastes like_ , Souma thought absentmindedly before realizing how ridiculous he sounded.

Rindou, however, couldn't contain her fang-filled grin.

"How'd you like to ride my meat?"

Souma nodded, still distracted by the Second Seat's sweet fragrance.

"Of course I'd ride your-" Souma's eyes then popped wide open. "Wait. _Ehhh?_ "

A few minutes later, a Souma dressed in his usual school uniform outfit was on the back of a cow. His arms were wrapped tightly around Rindou at her insistence.

"We can't have you falling off!" Rindou argued as she grabbed his arms and forced them around her like he was some human seatbelt. " _And off we goooo!_ "

Up and down, the cow trotted towards the center of the Academy. A pair of harnesses were affixed to the cow's mouth and Rindou had even donned a bamboo hat for dramatic effect.

"Hehe, I feel like the a wandering samurai!" Rindou said, clearly pleased with herself. Souma's face was buried deep in Rindou's hair and could only muffle what sounded like an affirmative. "Fear me! I'm the great blind swordsman Zatoichi!"

"You're actually a bit more like Wolf and Cow…" Souma muttered under his breath.

The pair continued on. As they grew closer to the more populated center of Tootsuki Academy, more cars and students passed by them. All of them took a glance at the strange site of the pair riding the cow. Many were confused. Was this some strange new technique to tenderize a cow? Was there a period drama being filmed on location? Perhaps they were time travellers who got sucked in through a portal and now they seek to the return to the past and undo the future that is-

Well, in either case, Tootsuki Sports, the school newspaper was already having a field day with its emergency edition.

' _Aliens?! Time-Travellers?! Cows?! Strange Visitors, a Blast from the Past!_ '

After a few more blocks of trotting, Rindou finally arrived.

"Hold down there, Zatoichi," Rindou cooed. She gently patted the cow's head. "We're here! Hey! Sleepyhead we're here!"

Rindou looked over her shoulder. The poor underclassman was so pooped out he fell asleep.

"Aw, he's all tuckered out," Rindou said with a smile. "Hey, Yukihira, wake up."

"Huh? What?" Souma wiped from droop from his lips. "Are we there yet?"

"Yep! We are!"

Souma checked his watch. "Class ended four hours ago."

Rindou continued beaming.

"I did not know that!" Rindou proudly declared in the afternoon sun.

"Guess it's a good time for lunch." Souma looked down at the cow. "It feels like a shame we have to butcher the cow though…"

Rindou gasped.

"Are you suggesting we eat Zatoichi?! After all the adventures we've been through together?"

"You airlifted him out of Germany this morning. How many adventures did you guys have?"

"Well there was this one time we rode with this underclassman of mine to class and we were totally late, haha!" Rindou smiled fondly at the memory. "Oh wait that was today."

"That's right now, to be more specific…"

Rindou shrugged. "Anyway, Zatoichi here is off the menu!"

"Guess I'll find a store somewhere-"

"Souma! _Soumaaa!_ "

A girl with twin pigtails began running towards the pair. She looked like a meek little thing. Rindou rubbed her chin like an ace hardboiled detective working on a tough case. _Where have I have seen her before_ , Rindou thought. _Anyways, I don't like her!_

"Hey Tadokoro. What's up?"

The girl carried huge stacks of her papers pressed against her chest. "You missed the lecture!"

"Oh? I don't think they expel us during lectures," said Souma. "At least, not yet. Wait! Was there a pop quiz and I missed it?!"

Tadokoro shook her head. "Worst! There's- _Eeep!_ "

Rindou was subconsciously releasing a death glare at Tadokoro.

"Eh? What is it?"

"Is there a place we can talk… in private…?"

"Uh. I don't see why we need to, but sure!" Souma turned to Rindou. "Mind excusing me? I think I might have missed something important in class." And with that, Souma hopped off the cow.

"Yeah. Sure. Whatever. No problem," Rindou said in quick succession.

Rindou scratched her back.

His warmth was missing.

That being said, the girl named Tadokoro took Souma riding on the back of a cow surprisingly well. Rindou thought to herself that that must not have been the strangest thing she's seen at the school. Then again, the girl's eyes still looked inexperienced to the ways of the world and all the ways of cookery there was to offer.

"Ah, such innocent eyes…" Rindou said softly.

Rindou sat patiently on the cow, watching from a distance as Tadokoro and Souma talked. The girl made wildly exaggerated hand gestures and looked like she was about to burst into tears at any moment. Meanwhile Souma nodded along to her explanation like he was listening to an explanation on theoretical black-hole fermion physics.

"How long are they going to keep jibber jabbering?"

Then, came a booming voice.

" _There you are!_ "

"Eh?"

Rindou turned around. The cow, Zatoichi, mooed.

Standing before her was the youngest member of the Elite Ten, the beauty of beauties in the First Years and heiress of the Nakiri Culinary Empire…

Nakiri Erina!

"There's been rumors flying around all day of a couple riding a cow together! I figured it was you! Have you no shame? You're Second Seat of the Elite Ten! You have to set an example for the other students and _yack and yack and yackity yack~_ "

Rindou totally tuned Erina out. The illustrious Second Seat began cleaning her ears with her pinky.

"What have you to say in your defense!" Hisako, Erina's personal secretary, had entered the fray.

"Well, you should probably give Yukihira Souma an earful of this too."

Nakiri Erina had a confused look.

"Why him- _Wait_ … was he…?"

"He rode the cow with me, duh?" Rindou shrugged.

Erina's went blank.

"What do you mean he rode the cow with you?"

"Like, see this cow here?" Rindou patted Zatoichi's head. "He was like, behind me, right? And he had like, his arms like, around my waist see? And we kind of, were like, sitting on this cow, as it moves…"

Erina's face creaked upwards.

"The newspaper said the cow-riding couple was frolicking and having indecent, shameless moments."

"You're telling me," Rindou sighed. "I still got some saliva on me." Rindou thought to the wet spot on her back from where Yukihira was drooling in his sleep.

Erina began twitching.

There was silence.

Hisako had stayed quiet. She slowly approached, cautiously, like a bomb disposal expert near a bomb. "Lady Erina…" was all Hisako would muster.

Erina said nothing for a long while.

Until finally…

"Disgusting! Impure! Vulgar! Lecherous! Licentious! Lewd! Utterly lewd!"

Rindou clapped. "Big words, little lady! Big words!"

Erina clenched her fist.

"I'm going to push through an edict to ban all animal riding activities on campus at the next Elite Ten meeting!"

"Okay, sure." Rindou shrugged. Rindou would just get it repealed the next day anyways. Let the heiress have her fun.

"Argh!" Erina looked like she was about to rip out her hair. "And in response to your impure acts upon this most sacred campus, I am declaring myself, Nakiri Erina, Head of the Public Morals Committee! I will see to it that such vulgar behavior never graces this campus ever again! And if any infraction is even remotely plausible, I shall unleash my full wrath in any shokugeki to force expulsion upon such offenders! I will do so at the first opportunity! I'm starting with that filthy deviant, Yukihira Souma!"

Rindou rolled her eyes.

Public Morals Committee? What was this? Some kind of RomCom?

All Rindou was hearing was ' _blah blah blah blah!_ '

"How can you be head of the Public Morals Committee when you don't even know what comes after kissing?"

Erina's face turned a bright beet red.

"H-Hisako! Rindou-nee said k-ki-ki, _gah!_ She said the 'k' word!"

The Tenth Seat looked like a girl who just caught mommy k!$$ing Santa Claus. Hisako immediately wrapped her arms around her in a defensive posture.

"Miss Kobayashi! Erina has no need to hear of you disgusting descriptions of carnal relationships!"

Rindou's mouth was slightly ajar.

"Is this girl serious?"

"There's something after k-k-ki-ki...? Impossible… simply impossible." Erina's lips were quivering. "There's nothing after k-k-ki… There's nothing after that, right? Right? In order for babies to form you only need to love someone very much and k-k-ki-ki... right? Then the mommy gathers up _ki energy_ into her belly so she can summon the Tree of Might so the stork can land and deliver the baby right? And that's why hospitals are so big because there are trees on the hospital rooftops... right, Hisako? _Right?_ "

"That's right Lady Erina, that's right…"

Erina was still badly shaken as Hisako escorted her to the limousine. Erina seemed like she had a mental breakdown.

"Did that just happen?" Rindou asked to no one in particular.

Rindou made a mental note to self to earmark in the budget a sex ed course for all students.

Shortly after Nakiri Erina left, Tadokoro and Yukihira Souma returned.

"You guys had a long chat. Ready to get going? Lunch is on me!"

Yukihira Souma shook his head. "Sorry Rindou-nee. I have to pass. Tadokoro and I have to plan a meeting."

Rindou felt her heart grow cold and empty. She twitched in the direction of the girl named Tadokoro, shooting a brief glare of killing intent, before looking back at Souma. "Why?" was all she asked.

Souma shrugged. "We're going on some camp tomorrow and we need to start packing."

"Oh. That's cool have fun~"

And with that, Rindou began riding Zatoichi the Cow back to her cottage. She mused happily along the way, thinking of all the non-beef things she would be eating today. She might even go vegan to see how it goes.

She was humming along merrily until a realization pierced her mind like a thunderbolt.

Wait.

The training camp.

Erina just said she would get rid of Yukihira Souma at the first opportunity…

The training camp is nothing but a week of elimination challenges…

Rindou's mind suddenly clicked.

"Oh shi-"

 _Chapter Eight Fin_

 _A Cow_


	9. A Favor from a Dear Friend

**Summary:** _Second Seat of the Elite Ten_ _Rindou Kobayashi has always marched to the beat of her drum. Unconventional, unorthodox, and with a playful persona - Rindou could never find the appeal of a rather boring, cooking school. Nothing held her attention for long, that is, until a particular transfer student came along…_

 **Doesn't it make your Heartbeat Flutter?**

 **Shokugeki no Souma**

 _Chapter Nine_

 _A Favor from a Dear Friend_

"I thought you didn't want to do it."

The office of the First Seat of the Elite Ten, Tsukasa Eishi, was immaculately clean and white - befitting of his moniker, ' _The White Knight of the Dining Table_ '. He was a firm believer in control. From temperature to dust to humidity to even the speed of the wind and air conditioning… everything has a profound effect on taste he believed. No detail couldn't be adjusted to produce a finer experience in taste.

But now, here he was hosting an audience with one Kobayashi Rindou.

And she was trying to reopen an issue he thought was settled. An issue Rindou herself settled, actually.

"Look. I might not have been at my best and proper then…" Rindou began explaining.

Eishi tilted his head in confusion. "You threw the application at my face and said, and I quote, ' _No!_ _I dun' wanna!'_ ," Eishi recalled flatly. He neatly straightened out a stack of papers. "Then you proceeded to wail loudly, rolling on the floor of this very office, for venison, quail, and rabbit."

"I was in a game-y mood," Rindou shrugged with a nervous laugh. "What can I say?"

"You wouldn't leave until you ate half a deer, two quails, a rabbit. Not to mention a roasted turducken."

"I'm a growing girl and I'm hungry!" Rindou declared with a laugh. "Plus I'm a little on the thin side, don't you agree?"

Eishi sighed.

Rindou's thighs were growing increasingly thicker - _that Eishi only noticed because he's been around Rindou so often during meetings and events and not like he was checking her out when she wasn't looking or that he likes her or anything, okay?_ After staring at the ocean of pale, delicious flesh south of her skirt, Eishi moved his eyes back to Rindou's face.

"What exactly do you want me to do? I already handed it off to someone else."

Rindou flailed her arms in the air.

"But I wanna be the Assistant Camp Director, _noooow!_ "

"You're fickle, you know?" Eishi commented. He looked at the crumpled application, the same one Rindou threw in his face weeks earlier. The major difference was that it was now completed and signed. There was even a stamp from Rindou's personal seal and Rindou hated using her personal seal.

Why would she want to be Assistant Camp Director? It was a pointless desk job meant for current Elite Ten members. The idea was that an Elite Ten member would gain firsthand experience in how to operate a training camp by following around the Camp Director himself. It was basically job shadowing. The job traditionally went to a Third Year Elite Ten member… except every Third Year bailed on it.

The most vocal of the refusals came from one Kobayashi Rindou, the current Second Seat.

"So what do you say Eishi ol' buddy, ol' pal? Lemme have it?"

"You're going to have to convince Nene to hand it over."

Kinokuni Nene was the most powerful Second Year on the current Elite Ten Council. By the rites, she would become First Seat when the current generation of Third Years graduate. She had a no-nonsense approach to things, including matters of cookings and politics. She was also infamous for being a hardboiled negotiator of prices and spoils.

"That stingy broad wanted my Hello Kitty pencil!"

Rindou spoke with righteous fury. Eishi blinked a moment. He contemplated his thoughts. Then he spoke.

"The pencil that you can get at any Sanrio shop? The one that every little girl that goes to grade school has?" Eishi looked at Rindou in disbelief. "You're holding out because of a pencil?"

"Yes!"

"Why don't you just go buy a new one?"

"You're closer!"

Eishi slowly tilted his head down a 30 degree angle. Slowly, his palms were brought to his face. "What have I done to deserve this, God? What? What have I done?" Eishi quietly sobbed to himself. "What did I do to get friends like this?"

Rindou watched the display. Then approached Eishi's desk and sat on it. She gently smoothed her skirt of wrinkles and guided her hands along her delicious thick thighs before resting them on her knees.

"We didn't really become friends, you know... We just happen to be the only ones left…"

Eishi quietly composed himself.

"Heh. There's really not that many of us left of our generation, huh?" Eishi reflected.

Rindou brought up her hand, showing her fingers and thumbs. "Literally everyone left from our generation can be counted on one hand, ya know? So isn't it a bit special? This relationship between you and me?"

Eishi sighed. He turned and looked out the window, into the orange evening.

"I've never really made friends my first year you know? Or at least, I never really tried," Eishi said quietly. "Most people just flocked to me because they wanted my cooking powers or to understand whatever special technique I had… I couldn't explain it to them. I just knew what to do and cooking was as natural to me as breathing…"

Rindou smiled. "Same for me too. Everyone hated us."

The two thought back to the memories of their first years. The lonely times of struggle and hardship and fierce battles in competitive cooking duels. The ones where students wagered treasure and enrollment to advance even a bit further in this dog-eat-dog world that was the Tootsuki Culinary Academy.

The melancholy in the room was thick.

"They thought we were hiding some special technique and refused to share." Eishi looked out the window. "Honestly, I couldn't teach them. How could I? I wanted the world to know the joys of cooking… and yet… ha! It's hilarious. Being hated for being decent at something…" Eishi felt like he was curling up into his turtle shell.

"How modest! 'I'm only decent at cooking! You're the First Seat of the Elite Ten Council! You're a bit better than ' _decent_ '! Come on, shape up your spine! Show some backbone! You're not a turtle! You're a dragon!" Rindou then proceeded to roar in Eishi's office with the ferocity of an abandoned kitten in a cardboard box.

"Haha. You got me. I'm a dragon," Eishi smiled. "Being the _White Knight of the Dining Table_ … does that mean I have to slay myself to save the princess?"

Rindou curled her hair in thought.

"Actually… the princess might turn out to the final boss…" Rindou said to no one in particular. The girl who was the Second Seat of the Elite Ten then turned to the First Seat of the Elite Ten. " _So how about it?_ "

A curious look was on Eishi's face. "How about what?"

Rindou's eyes darkened. They sharpened to those like a devious vampire that had just found her next victim. There was a merciless darkness in the pupil of her eyes, as dark as the blackest nights.

" _Let's have a shokugeki._ "

Eishi smiled.

"If we both duel each other," Eishi began, "neither of us will emerge unscathed."

"Oh?" Rindou said with a soft smile. "Usually you're so arrogantly confident you'd wager the First Seat in battles over getting the thermostat lowered. Where's that famous unbridled confidence of yours?"

Eishi looked at Rindou, a cautious smile on his lips.

"Rindou… contrary to what the entire student body thinks… the only reason why I'm the First Seat is because you have the attention span of a goldfish-" Eishi was met with a smack to the head.

"Rude!"

Eishi rubbed the back of his head. "' _Sorry not sorry'_ , I believe is the phrase a lot of the youngsters use." Eishi continued rubbing. "I think you rattled my skull…"

"Good!"

A small laugh escaped Eishi's lips. "If only you devoted yourself to cooking instead of meandering and skimping out of duties all the time, you could become a gem that shines brighter than me."

Rindou shrugged.

" _Booooring._ "

"I'd rather not lose anymore time over this… so can you at least tell me why you want this Assistant Camp Director position? At least let me understand a bit of the madness," Eishi pleaded.

Placing a delicate fingers on her luscious lips, Rindou looked at the ceiling in thought.

"I got into a spat with Nakiri."

"Again?" The First Seat stared in disbelief. "I could use less with another civil war in the elite ten…"

Rindou rolled her eyes. "How was I supposed to know a bicycle wasn't a good graduation present? She's always in her limo! She gets chauffeured everywhere! She tastes food all the time!" Rindou crossed her arms. "Thought she could use the exercise… _sheesh…_ "

Eishi sat quietly for a moment.

"Rindou, you got her a plastic tricycle."

"She was young! She just graduated!"

"Yeah. She just graduated from _middle school_. The plastic tricycle was for _toddlers_. The secretary of hers nearly had a heart attack. You offended her so much the Nakiri faction wanted to level the entire Central Block down and build a playground over it."

The Central Block was prime real estate on the Tootsuki campus. It was where many administrative buildings and shokugeki venues were located. Kitchens and built here offered a gorgeous view of the campus along with being a convenient location. They were mostly controlled by the top three in the Elite Ten.

"Psh, it's not like I got any territory I care about there… we should have let the old coons do as they'd liked! I mean, what's the big deal? Don't you have this office?" Rindou looked out the window. "Plus you got a killer view."

Eishi stared at Rindou blankly. "The office you're sitting in _is in the Central Block._ "

"Oh," was all Rindou could say.

Slumping back into his seat, Eishi rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"So about this thing with Nakiri… is it really that big of a deal? Even if you're the Assistant Campus Director it doesn't mean you make sure she gets expelled. The position doesn't come with any actual power. It's highly unlikely she'll fall for any traps you could set anyways," Eishi explained.

"I know that! But I gotta watch out for her."

"Why?"

"Because she might try to expel Yukihira Sou-" Rindou then stopped herself mid speech.

Eishi raised an eyebrow. Yukihira? That name sounded familiar…

Wait...

"That transfer student you made me pass? This is what it's about?"

Rindou nodded slowly. "Nakiri's out to get him! I just want to make things fair!"

Eishi looked out the window again. After a brief moment of reflection, he reached into his drawer and grabbed a pen and some forms. He began filling them out hurriedly before attaching a note to them.

"Here," Eishi said.

Then, like a light bulb that received a Pikachu's thunderbolt, Rindou's face lit up with a 1000-watt smile. She then gave Eishi a hearty hug. "Thanks!" She then spun around to leave the office, blowing a friendly kiss on the way out before closing the door. "Love ya!"

Now alone, Eishi sat there. He thought to everything he knew about cooking - all the techniques and skills and battles he had earned through his tenure here. He thought to all the struggles and hardships and how one of the few constant parameters in those trying times was a girl named Rindou Kobayashi.

He tapped a few keys onto his computer. A picture of a doofus kid sprang up. He had red hair with a white headband. He worked all his life at a small special of the day shop. He's passed his classes with flying colors. Although he's only had one shokugeki, he had prevailed over a famed Mito heiress and known member of the Nakiri faction. He was still undefeated and promising, like a diamond in the rough.

With a disinterested face, he read through the profile trying to find something - _anything_ to explain that girl's sudden interest...

Eishi thought back to Rindou's parting words.

 _Love ya!_

"No you don't," he said sadly.

 _Chapter Nine Fin_

 _A Favor from a Dear Friend_


	10. A Bonding Session with Skinship

**Summary:** _Second Seat of the Elite Ten_ _Rindou Kobayashi has always marched to the beat of her drum. Unconventional, unorthodox, and with a playful persona - Rindou could never find the appeal of a rather boring, cooking school. Nothing held her attention for long, that is, until a particular transfer student came along…_

 **Doesn't it make your Heartbeat Flutter?**

 **Shokugeki no Souma**

 _Chapter Ten_

 _A Bonding Session with Skinship_

Kinokuni Nene would adjust her glasses in annoyance if she had them on.

The steam was irritating her eyes to an extent. The smell of hot rocks thinned the mountain air. There was a light scent of wild flowers and fragrant oils drifting about. Before her was a scene that would be heavenly to most mere mortals: _Kobayashi Rindou and Nakiri Erina were soaking in the bath alongside her._

As the leading Second Year, she could not let this trouble her.

"Yeah, yeah! You finished those dinner sets really fast!" Rindou praised her underclassman. The latest challenge was something stupid like cooking X number of trays within a certain time limit.

"Ehh… It wasn't much at all, Rindou-sen- _Eeep!_ "

"It's Rindou-nee! Rin. Dou. Nee! Say it! _Say it!_ "

Rindou had taken Erina into a chestlock. Erina had become extremely flustered, which was rare for the strict and proper young lady. Nene sighed, only the Second Seat of the Elite Ten could make the Nakiri heiress so flustered. Nene was not confident her influence and popularity was enough to attempt such skinship with Nakiri Erina… that was, of course, assuming she wanted to.

Out of the corner of her eye, Nene eyed two pair of white fleshy mountains enter in grueling gladiatorial combat.

Nene's own gaze drifted 90 degrees downwards. All she saw was a barren, flat wasteland.

"Kinokuni! Please assist!" Erina was begging for aid. Rindou tightened the headlock and was in the process of blowing into her ear.

"Nene! Nene! Nakiri has to say it right? Right?" Rindou's massive armies were now assaulting Erina's rear as the heiress had just broken the hold and attempted to escape the hot springs trap.

Nene poured herself a drink from the floating serving tray. She took a sip.

Nene's eyes lowered several centimeters at Rindou's white fleshy orbs.

" _Just go die_ ," said Nene before finishing it off with a low comment: "disgusting…"

Afterwards, Nene was treated to another scene that would be the death of mortals: _Kobayashi Rindou was now testing the defences of Nakiri Erina's twin towers._

"Hisako! _Hisako, help!"_

"Not so tough without your secretary now? Huh? _HUH?_ "

Ignoring the blatant sexual harassment going on before her, Nene sighed. She lowered her head to the water level and blew some bubbles through her lips. How did this situation come about again? _Oh yes._

Rindou bursts through the door, _as usual_. Rindou then shows paperwork signed off by Eishi Tsubasa (of course… that lousy pushover of a First Seat…) that gave Rindou everything she wanted. Rindou then loudly proclaimed there's going to be some major changes around here but just lays around on the sofa snacking. Nene then proceeds to do all the work she was originally going to do, only now she was doing it with a less prestigious title.

As it turned out, Eishi had made Rindou the Primary Camp Director Assistant and Nene was the Secondary Camp Director Assistant.

 _Stuper upperclassmen_ , Nene thought bitterly. _When I'm in charge, there's going to be actual changes around here!_

After a while, the two finally settled down.

Erina had chosen to sat as far away as possible from Rindou, seating herself opposite of the hot spring. Rindou herself was sprawled all over the ledge like a queen, enjoying snacks and drinks.

"You gotta try this rice juice!"

"Rice juice?" Erina questioned. She took a simple whiff. " _Fermented?_ "

"Well yeah? How else do you make decent rice juice?" Rindou asked.

Erina then went off on a tangent about how rice cultivation techniques and the resultant fermentation processes produced a liquid that was not meant for minors (i.e. Kobayashi Rindou) to drink and no amount of authority (be it her position as Second Seat or obscene wealth) could trump Japanese law.

"These two… honestly," Nene said. "And here I thought I had a bath all to myself…"

The bath was meant to as exclusive for the Camp Director Assistant. But with the inclusion of Rindou it was changed to be exclusive to be the Camp Director Assistants, plural. And because Rindou stumbled upon Erina who had finished her camp activities early, it became a female bonding session amongst the members of the elite ten.

"If Momo was here, we could call it the Elite Ten Women's Association Bonding Session!" Rindou exclaimed.

"I think Miss Akanegakubo would have say she would be busy and politely excuse herself," Erina noted. "I do not think she likes to get her stuffed bear wet."

Rindou rolled her eyes.

"She's attached to that like a kindergartner to a security blanket."

Erina suddenly puffed her. "There's nothing wrong with having something special. Perhaps the item is a memento to something she admires or cares for!" Nene raised an eyebrow. It was rare to see the young Tenth Seat rise to anyone's defense.

"Mementos are _blah!_ They're just things! Nothing lasts forever. Food is the perfect example. You can't make food and expect no one to eat it," argued Rindou as she popped another sugary treat into her mouth. "That's why you gotta see all the world's got to offer before you kick the bucket."

Erina was silent for a moment before replying, "… sometimes memories aren't enough."

"Mind over matter," said Rindou coldly. "Experience can grow. Inanimate objects aren't special to everyone - they're only special to that one person. That seems kind of ridiculous. What'd you think, Glasses?"

Nene was sipping sweet sake quietly during the conversation, hoping to stay out of the line of fire.

"If people did not have their own personal preferences, we would not have all the cuisines we have today. Taste is subjective. You pride experience. Nakiri feels items can hold just as much meaning. In the end, we all die and we know not what we can take with us beyond in the afterlife."

After Nene's explanation, the three girls were quiet for the moment.

"Jeez, that got dark fast," Rindou growled. She produced a fan. "It's awfully warm in here."

"You realize you're in a _hot_ springs, correct?" Nene asked.

"Doesn't mean you can't have temperature control," Rindou said with a shrug.

"You're starting to sound like the First Seat," Nene noted. "Stressing over every detail in food…"

Rindou splashed water at Nene's face. "There are more important things in life than just cooking you know! What do you two do for fun?!" Rindou asked. She leaned forward, causing mountains to sway in the warm air.

"I watch cooking shows," said Nene.

"I like reading cooking magazines," said Erina. "And I like to discuss about how amateurish their opinions are."

Rindou had a look of disappointment and terror. "Do you guys do anything that's not cooking related?"

Erina and Nene looked at each other. They both shook their head.

"Why would I?" asked Nene.

"It seems like a waste of time… what could be fun in anything not related to cooking?"

"Do you guys even planned to get married?!" Rindou asked lazily.

"Too busy to think about marriage," Nene answered sharply. "It is not out of the question later on though." Nene nodded to herself. That was the correct answer. They were students still in school. Only idiots considered this the ' _springtime of life_ ' - _No_. It was the time to get ahead and dominate enough to secure an easy life for later.

Erina crossed her arms.

"Many proposals have been offered. I don't bother accepting. They always pick a lousy restaurant to host a meeting," said Erina. "Hisako just automatically strikes down any of those out of my appointment schedule."

Rindou's face looked like she had seen the two biggest antisocial females in her life.

"Well unlike you two, I plan on getting married! And I plan on marrying young! I want to be a housewife!"

"You?" Nene said exasperated. "A housewife?"

"I'd make a great housewife! You know, me and the husband with a couple of little squirts running around. We could own a special of the day shop in the downtown district, ya know? Something like those hole-in-the-wall places!" Rindou explained this all excited as her mountainous pale orbs nodded in vigorous agreement.

"I want to open five star restaurants all around the world," Erina replied. "What can be so great about a special of the day shop?"

"I agree with Erina," said Nene. "Except I'm aiming for Michelin stars."

Rindou's mouth in agape in shock.

"My dear underclassman… you guys clearly don't know the secret to cooking. Tell me, do you remember your parents cooking when you were young?"

Erina's eyes grew dark as if terrified, as if a nightmare had stained the pupils of her eyes and transformed them into swirling dark abysses. Nene shook her head. "I cooked for myself," she said.

Rindou hung her head low in shame.

"When I was little, my mom would make me these really awesome dumplings. They were delicious. After school or after a sports game or while watching television on a Saturday morning… she'd make 'em and they'd be great. I didn't know how she could make them so well. So one day I tried making them myself. I bought all the ingredients from the supermarket… but they didn't taste the same. They weren't that great. They were just… _bleh!_ "

"So you suck at making dumplings?" Nene asked.

A splash of water from Rindou was her reply.

"No! Lemme finish!"

"I'm intrigued by this story," said Erina. "Please continue."

"So anyways I go to my mom and I'm like, 'hey! How you make dumplings so good?!"

"So well," Nene corrected.

"What?"

"Nevermind," said Nene with a sigh.

"Whatever. So there's my mom right? And she's looking at the huge mess I made in the kitchen and she's like ' _clean this mess up!_ ' and I'm like ' _okay, mom_ '. Then after I finished cleaning up, my mom goes to the freezer and pulls out a bag of pre-made store-bought dumplings! You know, the mass produced kind that you just boil water and fry a bit in a little oil to cook! She kept calling me an ' _idiot_ ' for a good week…"

Nene and Erina stared blankly.

"So you have a preference for eating low quality premade frozen foods?" Erina asked.

"No! It's not that!" Rindou exclaimed. "But that moment made me think… maybe food - like, really good food - maybe it's not delicious because we use all these techniques and skill to make it… but maybe it's something else?"

"What do you mean?" Nene asked.

"Even after that day, I tried making dumplings just like the store. I've even made my own dumplings recipes. But no matter how much I tried them they didn't taste as good as the ones my mom made for me."

Erina rubbed her chin. "It's well documented that cooking for yourself decreases the taste impact of the food. It's mostly because you are smelling the aroma of the food while you're cooking it which decreases the sensations of taste. Perhaps if you-"

Rindou silenced Erina with a splash of water.

"It's not that!" Rindou shouted before continuing. "Listen! I think… I truly think… the true secret to cooking is to cook with lo-"

"That's ridiculous," Nene interrupted. "A spiritual answer for an objective problem. There's good cooking and there's bad cooking. People only have poor taste. I expected better of you."

Rindou glared. "Fine. Whatever. I thought I was being generous sharing my wisdom with my underclassmen but hmpf! Be that way!" Rindou crossed her arms and looked away. "Hey! Erina! Want to play some cards?"

"Eh? Sure…"

Erina looked like had been deep in thought.

Nene left the water. She was done with this bonding session. "Come by later, Glasses! I wanna stomp you in cards!"

After having sufficiently dried herself, Nene placed on her robe and exited the baths. Rindou and Erina had gone off to find Erina's secretary Hisako to play card games. Nene was to take an evening stroll before joining them.

The hotel was spacious and could easily accommodate a small army. Hosting the current First Years was a simple matter. In fact, it was rare to walk across anyone in the hallways simply because they were so large and the students scattered all over the buildings in their rooms. You had to be a clumsy idiot that was completely unaware of his or her surroundings to bump into some-

"Ow! Oh sorry! Excuse me!"

Nene, lost in her thought, had bumped into someone. She looked up at a spiky haired lad, wearing the same hotel-provided robe as her. He was obviously a student.

He offered her a hand.

"Thanks, but I got it," Nene said as she got up. Quickly adjusting herself, she breathed a sigh of relief as she was not caught to expose any parts of herself to some strange. "Watch where you're going."

"Actually you walked into me-"

Nene glared. " _Watch where you're going next time._ "

The boy looked confused. Then he had a smile. "The name's Yukihira Souma. You must be pretty good!"

Nene tilted her head. "What do you mean, I ' _must be pretty good_ '?" Wasn't this idiot aware of who she was? Doesn't every student in the Academy know the face and name of every Elite Ten member? While it was true most members of the Elite Ten did not actively seek out glory, they were nonetheless rather famous.

"Well you just got out of the baths, which means you must have finished your dinner sets pretty fast. Otherwise, how else would you be wearing that robe right now?" The boy named Yukihira tilted his head. "Unless you're a legit hotel guest! Oh I'm sorry!" The boy began bowing his head profusely.

Nene looked on in a stunned silence.

This boy absolutely had no idea who she has. She adjusted her glasses. Her glasses were on. Her hair was unbraided… but still! Most people wouldn't be so blind as to not recognize the one who stands at the top of all the current Second Years!

"I'm…"

"No no! Say no more! Sorry!" Yukihira laughed. "I'll watch where I'm going next time. Please enjoy your stay! It'd be bad manners if a Tootsuki student ruined this hotel's reputation! Is there anything I can do for you? I'm actually a pretty decent cook!"

Nene felt a strange feeling in her chest.

When most people looked at her, it was often a look of fear. They feared her abilities in taking away all they hold dear in a shokugeki. They feared being expelled and their names being ruined by a disastrous match. Others showed contempt and hatred and spite. These were the faces of those who lost. Others showed false smiles and showered her with compliments. The faces of sycophants and kiss-ups.

But this boy… this boy didn't treat her any different…

 _This boy…_

 _He was…_

"I might take you up on that…" said Nene, almost like a whisper.

Yukihira Souma then withdrew something from his robe. Nene stared at it. It was a squid drenched in what appeared to peanut butter, jelly, and a dash of miso. Like a thunderbolt, Nene felt a convolution in her stomach as the disgusting travesty was placed in her hand.

"It's good! Trust me!"

Nene stared at it.

 _This boy…_

 _He was…_

… _just an idiot!_

Before Nene could make a comment on how ridiculous and avant garde the combination was, a girl with pigtails appeared. Speaking in a hurried manner, she didn't even notice Nene was she quickly pulled Souma off to meet his friends in a dorm room to play cards.

"See ya later!" Yukihira Souma shouted as he was pulled away.

"Yeah. Sure," said Nene. A slimy sensation was in her hand. Nene looked down.

The damn squid thing with condiments was still on her hand!

It was disgusting. The thing had a mixture of sweet and spice and savory that went to extremes. There was no clear balance. The thing looked absolutely unappetizing. What in the world could he have been thinking? Maybe he did know she was an Elite Ten member! Maybe this was just a way of playing a stupid prank on her!

…

Then again, the boy seemed genuine enough…

Nene sighed. What could hurt? She'll just spit it out anyways.

She popped the jelly-peanut-butter-miso squid tentacle into her mouth. She chewed.

Her eyes widened. She felt like a giant kraken arose from the sea of jelly and attacked her ship, the S.S. Miso. She could feel the tentacles slowly wrap around her, crushing the ship. Then the peanut butter cargo hidden away in the ship's bay began seeping out, drowning everything in its nutty wave!

This…

This was…

"Delicious," Nene said in a soft voice like the aftermath of a defeat.

Nene looked down the hallway, where the boy had went off to.

She was alone in the deserted hallway, alone only with her flushed red cheeks and a thumping heartbeat. She placed a hand to quiet her chest. Her pulse had risen. Her temperature was up. And she felt like something was missing… and she desperately wanted it...

This feeling…

… _could it be?_

What was that that Rindou-nee said? Maybe the secret to cooking was... ? Nene thought about it carefully. She was still extremely inexperienced in the matter. Luckily there were books called ' _manga_ ' that were supposedly excellent in this category. She should know, she overhead other girls in her lecture classes discuss it.

She would need to research this further before making a move. It was an opportunity she could not afford to squander.

 _Chapter Ten Fin_

 _A Bonding Session with Skinship_


	11. An Examination on a Phenomenon

**Summary:** _Second Seat of the Elite Ten_ _Rindou Kobayashi has always marched to the beat of her drum. Unconventional, unorthodox, and with a playful persona - Rindou could never find the appeal of a rather boring, cooking school. Nothing held her attention for long, that is, until a particular transfer student came along…_

 **Doesn't it make your Heartbeat Flutter?**

 **Shokugeki no Souma**

 _Chapter Eleven_

 _An Examination on a Phenomenon_

Nene ticked off another square off her clipboard with a bright red checkmark. In a swift movement, she brought a slender recording device to her lips. She whispered something into it. To a sensible passerbyer it would appear to be a professional taking audio notes to herself. With grace and dignity befitting one of her rank, Nene appeared as a self-possessed Secondary Camp Director Assistant.

"Time: oh-five-hundred hours. Subject S is currently prepping his station. Nothing unusual," she said quietly.

She had finished checking a few more boxes before moving on, careful not to cast too long a glance at a certain station. Beginning her rounds, she went along her previously established patrol route, walking at a brisk pace and diligently noting and marking students accordingly. She checked the entrances and pathways to ensure they could accommodate the several hundreds who would sampling the day's fare. She looked for any health violations (punishable by immediate expulsion), dress code violations (punishable by immediate expulsion), or inappropriate gestures towards guests and/or staff (also punishable by immediate expulsion and potential lawsuits).

"Time: oh-five-hundred-and-ten-hours. Subject S is prepping his eggs and other ingredients. Nothing unusual," Nene whispered into her slender audio recording device.

Nene needed information. She would never participate in a shokugeki without adequate research. As such, she would never embark on a campaign without having sufficient data on her target.

Data. Information. Nene had to control the battlefield. It was deterministic. Know your enemy, know their movements, and make adjustments to your plans had something to conquer now.

She gave a swift glance, one most people would ignore, towards the target of her campaign: _Yukihira Souma_.

"Time: oh-five-hundred-and-forty-hours. Subject S makes contact with Elite Ten Nakiri."

"Y-Yukihira Souma?! What are you doing here?!"

Erina Nakiri exclaimed in an unusual display of fluster. She was holding a heavy looking box. She would have certainly would have used her hands to point at Yukihira Souma for added emphasis had her hands not been preoccupied.

"I guess we're neighbors," Yukihira replied cheerfully. "We seem to run into each other a lot. Oh do you need some help with that?"

Erina Nakiri huffed and readjusted the weight on her arms. "I'm fine," she said with a puff. "But I guess it is a bit convenient," Nakiri said with a sinister smile. "With you as my neighbor, you'll get a front row seat to see just how massive the gulf is between our cooking abilities are!"

"I think I'll be too busy cooking to watch you cook… we can do it another time though!"

"E-Eh…? No I mean you should be feeling emotionally devastated..."

"From not getting to see you cook?" Yukihira looked confused.

"No! For getting to see me cook!"

"Why would I get devastated by that? It actually sounds like a good learning experience." Yukihira pulled out a little leather notebook. "Looking at my calendar I'm free… well after the training camp I'm pretty much free all month. How's your calendar looking?"

"I-I don't know. Hisako does all that stuff for me…" Nakiri looked like she had no idea how to respond.

"Oh. We can schedule it later then."

Nakiri Erina gritted her teeth. "People usually pay exorbitant fees to watch me cook…," she grumbled.

"So nice of you to do things pro bono! But seriously Nakiri, you're actually kind of a nice person! Let's set up a date some other time."

Nakiri's eyes became wide eyed.

"D-date? Wait. This is a d-date? D-don't there… aren't there… There are rules for this kind of this transgression!"

"Rules for setting up a date?"

"Yes! You have to… you have to… you know…"

"I know what?"

"You have to… have to…" Nakiri said quietly. " _...walk me home first._ "

"You know, you're really weird," Yukihira Souma said crossing her arms.

"I should be the one saying that about you!"

As the two bickered, a pair of eyes watched them… one bespeckled and the other made of glass.. Two of the most famous first years at Totsuki Culinary Academy were bickering. Some might even say they were flirting, had almost everyone else in the room not been so preoccupied with their own prep work. One was the revered heiress of the Nakiri Clan and the other was some nobody who wandered out of a hole-in-the-wall special-of-the-day place in a local shopping district. It was a real Lady and the Tramp moment.

Nene adjusted her glasses and checked the time. It was dwindling away and they wouldn't be able to prep their meals.

Then a certain Second Seat came along.

"Oi you two! How's it hanging?!"

With a gigantic arm sweep, Kobayashi Rindou managed to pull Erina and Yukihira into a half-hug. The loud and boisterous Second Seat was grinning from ear to ear and looked absolutely pleased to have found someone to bother.

"M-Miss Kobayashi?! Let me go! _Eeep!_ " Rindou only pulled Nakiri in tighter.

"Oh hey, Rindou-nee. Didn't think you'd be here," Yukihira said casually.

"Course I'd be here! Wouldn't miss it for a double-bacon mac and cheese burrito!" Rindou declared with a toothy grin before a realization began to set in. "Wait… Actually I take that back… That actually sounds good."

"Miss Kobayashi. We have to go. The customers are about to come in and these two still need to prepare," said Nene.

"Oh you're-"

"Silence you," Nene said with an angry glare at Yukihira.

Wha? I gotta go already? But I wanna stay! I wanna stay!"

"I'll take her away," Nene offered as she attempted to drag a pouting Rindou Kobayashi away.

"I guess I got to go too…" Eishi said with a sigh.

"Who are you?" came the innocent question.

The question came from Yukihira Souma.

"You don't know who he is?" Nene asked. She released her grip on Rindou who collapsed onto the floor gasping for oxygen. Nene's voice was thick with disbelief. "You don't know who he is? This guy?" Nene began prodding Tsukasa Eishi's voice with her fingers. "Really? Are you kidding me? Are you even a student of this school?"

"Nope. No clue who he is! Is he someone important?"

Eishi scratched his chin lightly. "Hehe… I guess you could say that?"

"Oh. Are you a pop idol?"

Eishi blushed a deep dark red. "N-No…" Eishi brought a pair of hands to clasp his cheeks, averting his gaze from Yukihira as flattery began to flutter his heart.

Yukihira began rubbing his chin. "Hm… are you famous?"

Eishi smiling lips evolved into a schoolgirl giggle.

"Oh stop you!" Eishi giggled.

Yukihira, however, was still stuck in deep thought. Then like a lightning bolt, a lightbulb went on in his head. "Oh! I got it! You must be the-"

Suddenly, a wild Kobayashi Rindou appeared!

"T-This is my boyfriend, Eishi Tsukasa!" Rindou boldly declared while quickly latching onto Eishi's arm. "Quite the catch, huh?!"

"What." Nene's mouth was agape.

"W-What?" Eishi's red cheeks became even redder. "What? I mean… this is so soon! I mean… really? Really? When did this happen? Uh… oh… um… what do I do? What do I do?"

"Hush and play along!" Rindou whispered angrily into Eishi's ear.

Nene sighed. Eishi Tsukasa and Kobayashi Rindou, the First Seat and Second Seat respectively, were the pride of Totsuki Culinary Academy. They were also some of the worse personalities she'd ever encountered.

"Oh this is your boyfriend?" Souma looked up and down Eishi, analyzing him. "He's surprisingly normal."

"What is that suppose to mean?" Rindou sounded offended. "Are you saying I'd only go out with an alien, esper or time traveller or something, bub?!"

"That does actually sound like you," Yukihira nodded in approval.

"It really does huh…" Rindou agreed after a short while of contemplation.

 _These two!_ , Nene screamed internally.

Out of the corner of her eye, Nene could see Nakiri Erina, the neglected Tenth Seat, in shock. Three heavyweights of the Elite Ten Council were gathered before her. Normally such an occasion would be scheduled well in advance. Chance meetings between Elite Ten members were few and gatherings of more and three, given their immensely busy schedules (minus Kobayashi Rindou's), were incredibly rare.

Then, a booming voice announced the impending doom.

"Good morning students! Today we will begin your examination!" Chef Dojima began explaining the rules of the examination which involved ensuring that customers eat two hundred plates of the chosen dish.

"I didn't finish prepping!" Nakiri Erina gasped.

"Oh. I'm in the same boat too," Yukihira said softly. He looked at his station, rubbing his chin in deep thought. "What to do… what to do…"

All around them, other stations had begun firing up their girdles and prepping batters and egg mixtures. Most had already served the first batch of their dishes. Only at two stations, both adjacent to each other, had nothing been done. Nothing was turned on. Ingredients were not sufficient unpacked. Eggs uncracked.

Nothing in either station was ready.

Nene and Rindou both looked at each other.

"Did we do that?" They both said at the same time.

"That certainly doesn't sound good," Eishi sighed before disappearing off somewhere to mope about how he was going to buy a house and save for the kids college tuition with his beloved significant other.

It was half an hour into the competition.

Both Erina and Souma had failed to get a single customer to finish their dish. It wasn't because their choice of dishes were poor. It wasn't because they were unappealing. It wasn't because it appeared unappetizing.

Rather, the issue was they had no food to present.

"They're in a pretty rough spot," Kobayashi said quietly. "It's your fault because you kept badgering him."

"Me? You're the one who badgered him. And besides, Nakiri Erina is also struggling as well. Do not think your interference has ruined just one student's opportunities."

As the two Elite Ten members argued, both Nakiri and Yukihira continued their prep work. Nakiri Erina unpacked things as quickly as she could. Yukihira, right beside her was quick to assemble his stations.

"It seems my two Camp Assistants are causing quite a ruckus," came a stern voice.

"Chef Dojima!"

Chef Dojima was the Head Chef at Totsuki Resorts. As part of his responsibilities was designing and approving any changes to menus, overseeing all kitchens and food services, securing ingredients, and acquiring the best chefs and culinary experts. This has made Totsuki Resorts into a Mecca of culinary traditions and expertise. Nakiri Sanezaemon trust in Chef Dojima is so absolute, it is said he could stamp documents and executive orders with the Nakiri Clan seal without fear of reprimand. Within the Resorts, Chef Dojima was a living God. A legend. A former First Seat. He was what all students at the Academy aspired to be.

"Now that I think about it… ' _causing a ruckus_ ' is a dated term. I think kids these days prefer to use the phrase, how do you say, ' _up to no good_ '?"

"We've been doing our jobs diligently," Nene lied.

"Yeah! I've been sampling everything! I even got room for seconds!" Kobayashi said with an egg-filled smile.

"You're ruining the spirit of the examination if you give everyone freebies, Miss Kobayashi," Nene scolded.

"Stop trying to act so high and mighty in front of the head honcho," Rindou fired back.

"Alright, alright, settle down you two before you start another Civil War…" Chef Dojima placed his hands in between the two feuding ladies. "But Miss Kobayashi's observation is correct. Both candidates, Yukihira Souma and Nakiri Erina are struggling. They failed to prep in time and now are behind. Not only that, as time goes on, there will be less and less customers are they become more fool and the breakfast hour trickles away. In a sense, it was important to start off immediately strong. Instead… they've botched right out of the starting gate."

Rindou bit her thumbnail. "You know what… I kind of feel like eating two hundred plates of-" Rindou was tugged back into place with a pull of her jacket.

"You're staying here. No more interfering," Chef Dojima said.

"But-"

"Sit down and watch." Chef Dojima silenced Rindou's protests. "Have faith in their skills. Or else they deserve to be expelled."

Rindou crossed her arms and pouted.

Nene leaned closer and watched.

They had finally began serving food. Even from a distance, she could see their frantic pace of movements. She could see their lips move. Nakiri and Yukihira were talking to each other.

"What are they talking about?" Nene wondered aloud.

"They're coordinating a desperate plan," Chef Dojim observed. "It's normal that when one feels trapped, even you would resort to working with people you may not agree with. That is true in cooking as well as in life."

Then, Yukihira Souma began cooking.

It was like a dance. Each movement of his swift and graceful. As time went on, his movements became swifter and faster and in a heartbeat it was done. With a dramatic flip, his omelette souffle was finished.

People noticed.

Slowly, more and more people began gravitating towards Nakiri and Yukihira's stations. What began as a trickle became a torrent as more customers flooded the area, to the point where their stations were not visible behind the crowd of people.

"W-what happened? They only just served the first patch."

"It is a powerful element. Certain people are amused by the first thing they see," Chef Dojima began. "That is how things are in restaurants with a menu. Choose the flashiest option. It is different at a buffett. At a buffet people tend to look at their options as they can pick and choose at will. So when a new option is presented… it immediately piques their interest and they may consider it more closely than options they were initially presented with."

"Gotta pick the thing that interests you the most," Rindou said with a shrug.

More and more people had began flocking to the stations.

"Well, that's only half of it. Nakiri's eggs benedict is an appealing visual sight that appeals only to those who see it up close. If one doesn't wander near their stations, it would never have gotten any attention. That is where Yukihira Souma's performance cooking comes in."

"Performance cooking?" Nene asked.

"Cooking is a visual artform. The movements. The technique shown. It can impress people who think to themselves ' _Wow!_ '"

"What does that have to do with this?" Nene asked quietly.

"That is the strength of Yukihira Souma's performance cooking: it's ability to be seen far more than on a plate but from across the cafeteria. It's like a gravitational pull that drags them. From a distance, Yukihira, and as it gets closer, Nakiri. Yukihira's impromptu performance cooking of his egg souffle combined and Nakiri's regal presentation of her egg's benedict… it's like a dance. They both support each other. They both make each other better chefs. In a way, they're polishing the other of its weakness. That is the Tootsuki ideal."

Both girls were quiet after Chef Dojima's lecture.

"So you're saying… Yukihira has better chemistry with Nakiri…" Nene said softly.

"I didn't say that."

"He's saying they're helping each other out, even if they don't realize it," Rindou said softly. "In a way, that's kind of neat. There's only so far you can go alone."

Chef Dojima chuckled softly.

"That is true. Part of being a chef is learning techniques and mastering concepts. The other part… you'll figure it out."

And so, with a wave, Chef Dojima departed to observe the rest of the cafeteria.

"It's a bit frustrating," Rindou said after a while. "I wish I had that kind of relationship with somebody."

"What kind of relationship?" Nene asked.

"The sort where you both make each other a better person."

"Some people might think you're talking about a love interest," Nene scoffed.

Rindou shrugged. "Why not both?" _Beeeeeep!_ Rindou and Nene both looked at the large clock in the center of the room. "I guess the examination is over. Both the little runts passed. I'm not surprised… But _that_ , however, is surprising."

A sense of relief washed over Nene. She had not been paying attention to Yukihira's plate count. Slowly, her eyes widened. She took off her glasses, rubbed them with a cloth, and placed them back on.

The number of plates by Yukihira Souma's name didn't change.

 _402 Plates Served!_

"H-how?" Nene said in a gasp. Normally students would struggle to break just two hundred plates. Such an accomplishment has only been matched by potential First Seats in previous years. But for Yukihira to break four hundred plates, with a significant portion of the time spent prepping! That was… incredible!

"Look at Nakiri's," Rindou suggested before shoving her hands into her pockets. "Seems I underestimated her. Oh sheesh and here I was thinking she'd get all flustered and expelled or something…" Rindou mumbled to herself as she walked towards the two.

Nene looked over to Nakiri Erina's plate counter.

 _537 Plates Served!_

 _Did they really support each other that much? Was this the power of their chemistry? To achieve that in only a fraction of the time allotted..._ Nene looked at Yukihira Souma and Nakiri Erina bickering around. Kobayashi Rindou giggled along with Yukihira's antics. _Such a thing couldn't be possible… it wasn't possible…_

 _Or was it?_

"I still served more plates served than you!" Nakiri Erina waved her arms in frustration.

"But I ran out of eggs so I could have probably sold more-"

"It's your fault you didn't prep enough ingredients!"

"I was distracted. I could probably have prepared more ingredients… yeah…"

" _Aw_ you two! I'm so glad both of you passed! Give Rindou-nee a big hug! _Yeah!_ "

" _Eeep!_ Let go! Let go! Hisako! Hisako save me please!"

Even now, Nakiri and Yukihira were bickering.

Maybe there was something to Chef Dojima's words. Chefs helping each other. Chefs supporting each other… perhaps it was that… perhaps it was also a bit of what Miss Kobayashi said…

Maybe the secret to cooking was to cook for someone you lo-

"Seems you're stuck in deep thought."

"Eh?"

Nene looked up out of her trance. It was Eishi Tsukasa.

"They seem happy," he noted in the direction of Yukihira, Nakiri, and Rindou.

"Yeah. They do," Nene agreed adjusting her glasses. "I have research I need to do." It was true. She needed to begin looking up manuals on how to insert oneself into a person's social circle and build relationships. She had overheard classmates talking about a video game about _Personas_ or something that had that exact mechanic.

"You mean, you have a plan you want to carry out."

"Huh?"

Eishi's eyes were still on the trio. No. It would be more correct to say, rather, they were on someone.

"There's something you want over there. I want something else over there..." Eishi smiled softly. "Perhaps we can partition the spoils in a fair manner. But to achieve such a thing to begin with is beyond my poor powers. But I think what Chef Dojima said has merit. Sometimes you do need to work with others."

"What are you saying?"

Eishi Tsukasa was perhaps one of the most loner-type personalities on the Elite Ten Council. He was a strict perfectionist, not wanting anyone's help whatsoever. Why was he talking like this? This was strange... unusual... virtually unheard of!

"What I'm proposing could lead to another Civil War… but what the hey. Wars have been fought at the Academy for lesser things…"

"I don't get what you're trying to get at."

Nene understood perfectly.

She just didn't want to admit it.

Eishi turned, like a mechanical doll, his eyes full of darkness. Despite the morning sun beaming through the windows, it felt like a cold shudder of night had fallen. He moved closer to Nene, like a stalking shadow.

"I'm proposing that we can be mutual benefactors of an agreement. This agreement is one where we coordinate our resources, our skills, our powers… to achieve common goals. And I believe our goals do not interfere with one another. On the contrary, I think we share very similar goals. Goals that support each other. My happiness won't detract from your happiness."

"You're suggesting we-"

Eishi smiled darkly.

"I'm proposing an alliance." He extended a hand to Nene.

Nene looked down at it. It was surreal. It was rare enough for Elite Ten members within a generation to agree to an alliance. It was extremely unorthodox to see one proposed between two different generation…

...but this was an opportunity.

Nene looked at the hand, contemplating her options. This would make her a target. Not a target of common ruffians desperate for her seat but a target for Third Years, or anyone else, seeking to knock Eishi's power down a peg. The most dangerous, most fanatical elements of the Academy won't just be looking for her wealth or resources but they would hunger for her expulsion.

There was something she wanted. Eishi had something he wanted.

Perhaps, this arrangement could work...

Nene gulped.

Nene shook Eishi's hand.

 _Chapter Eleven Fin_

 _An Examination on a Phenomenon_


	12. A Declaration of War

**Summary:** _Second Seat of the Elite Ten_ _Rindou Kobayashi has always marched to the beat of her own drum. Unconventional, unorthodox, and with a playful persona - Rindou could never find the appeal of a rather boring, cooking school. Nothing held her attention for long, that is, until a particular transfer student came along…_

 **Doesn't it make your Heartbeat Flutter?**

 **Shokugeki no Souma**

 _Chapter Twelve_

 _A Declaration of War_

Nene sat alone with Eishi in his private quarters. The First Seat's eyes were intense. He read through book after book. Nene's personal library of reference materials she had been assembling, her war chest of information, was being shared with Eishi Tsukasa.

"Look, Kinokuni!" Eishi flipped through a few more manga. "Have you ever noticed how many manga are set in schools? Like this one." He held up a copy of _The Brunette Fox-Child named Ramen_. "School for ninjas. Or this." _My Superhero Academy Love Life: SNAFU_ was held up. "This one has a school for superheroes. Or or my personal favorite!" Eishi held up a book. "A school for _wizards_. Can you believe that? Wizard school? Amazing what they'll think of next," Eishi said in amazement.

Nene adjusted her glasses.

"That's _Harry Potter: The Manga_ , sir."

Eishi furrowed his eyebrows. "What's a Harry Potter?"

"I-I… it's nothing, sir. It seems you're quite taken with the manga."

Eishi nodded eagerly. "It's incredible! A school just for witchcraft and wizardry! It's brilliant and engaging. Every student hates class so why not teach them something interesting like literal magic?" Eishi began getting a bit glossy eyed. "It's beautiful…" he muttered before resting his chin on his palm. "I wish I was in a school for something awesome…"

"Sir, you're in a school where we battle each other in cooking competitions."

Eishi's eyes lit up. " _That's it!_ That's how I'll spread proper cuisine to the world! Marketing! At the next meeting I'll propose to the council that we should sponsor a manga… we can call it… _Shokugeki no Eishi!_ Like, _Food Wars! Eishi Tsukasa Edition!_ It'll be about me cooking! I mean, I cook all the time. It'll be easy! We just need to find an artist… preferably someone who does clean and homely manga - I don't want my author associated with anything vulgar or improper…" Eishi leaned closer to Nene. "... _like hentai_ ," he whispered like a toddler saying a bad word.

Nene's mouth gaped a little. The greatest chef of her generation was stupid she felt physical pain.

After Nene recomposed herself, she replied, "but sir, you're not a transfer student."

Eishi's eyes began welling with tears. "BUT KINOKUNI! EVERY MANGA HAS A TRANSFER STUDENT! I WANNA BE A TRANSFER STUDENT."

"But you're not a transfer student," Nene emphasized again. _He's more like Rindou-senpai than he realizes_ , Nene thought privately.

"Why oh why must you ruin my dreams?" Eishi sobbed. He clutched his brains as the realization set in. "Does that mean I'm not the protagonist? Does that mean I'm doomed to be a side character for the rest of all time?"

"You're the First Seat of the Elite Ten."

"I'M THE FIRST SEAT OF NOTHING IF I CAN'T BE THE PROTAGONIST OF THIS MANGA! Think about it Kinokuni! With this manga I can introduced my own recipes as being superior to other people's recipes. It'll get people interested in cooking. People might even try copying my recipes! With this I can elevate the standard of Japanese cuisine to a new level!" Eishi gasped. "Maybe I'll be bigger than _Cooking with Dog_ …" The First Seat then began to chuckle with a sinister shadow over his forehead. "I'll finally be beat that damned cur…"

 _If I said any of that I'd die of embarrassment_ , Nene thought to herself with a twitch an eye. Rindou Kobayashi was whimsical but Eishi was overly obsessed with details and panicky. It was perfect or nothing. Nene sighed.

What did she do to deserve this?

"Hard to imagine we'll be gone from here soon," Eishi said with a sad smile.

"Huh?"

"Us Third Years will be graduating at the end of the year. Kobayashi, Akanegakubo, Saito, Megishima, and myself… we've spent so much time focused on cooking and mastering our craft… after all of that, this is nice. I think."

"What do you mean?"

Eishi shrugged. "Doing something like a normal high schooler would do - plotting how to get the love of your life to notice you."

Nene felt her heart skip a beat. _Love of your life! How could he say that so casually!_ Nene thought. "I never expected you to have such interests."

Eishi laughed. "Our time on this world is short but there's so much the world has to offer. Isn't it proper to try our best to understand and sample it all?"

Nene looked at the table. All these mangas she'd never have touched. Her childhood memories was of success and mastery of traditional Japanese arts and cuisine. It was a bit nice, Nene thought, to read a bit of romance like a ' _normal_ ' girl for once.

"That's true, sir."

Eishi looked at the clock. "It's about time that baths open. Have you decided on a course of action?" asked Eishi.

"I believe a conventional strategy would be appropriate. _Accidental Meeting Outside of Baths_."

Eishi nodded. "Sound. Safe. Also bound for failure. Thirty-three out of the thirty-six shoujo manga I've read have had unfavorable outcomes but it's a classic. Still...," he muttered. "Anything underneath her grasp is never simple."

"Miss Kobayashi?"

"Yes." Eishi tossed a small flat device towards Nene. "It's a GPS tracker on Kobayashi. Use it to be aware of her location at all times."

Nene stared at the device, unease gnawing at her.

"Um… Sir… why do you-"

Eishi looked at Nene, narrowing his eyes.

"School trip. Second Year. The Polar Bear Incident."

Nene felt cold at the memory. What began as a simple Second Year class trip to the old capital ended with Kobayashi wandering out of the hotel at night (Nene believed Kobayashi's exact words on the Interpol report was "I wanted to try authentic late night Kyoto ramen! Megishima recommended me the place! It's his fault!") and ended up with her three days later in the American state of Alaska living among a polar bear and her three cubs. "I was protecting them from global warming!" was her defense to the United Nations.

Regardless, Rindou Kobayashi is banned from the State of Alaska.

"Yes, I understand," Nene nodded. "Please excuse me."

After returning to her room to gather her toiletries and towel, Nene began making her way checked the Rindou Tracker. _Good, Kobayashi is still in her room. With this, there will be no interference!_ Nene thought to herself with a smile.

Nene slowed to a stop outside the baths.

 _Perfect!_ she thought, _I'll just wait out here until-_

"Mind fillin' me in on whatcha guys are plannin'?"

Nene's heartbeat skipped for a moment as Rindou Kobayashi's lips were mere centimeters from her ear. "K-Kobayashi-senpai! W-What do you I owe the pleasure?"

Rindou raised an eyebrow. "I'm here to take a bath."

"Yes! Of course," Nene nodded. She was caught off guard and flustered. She was speaking too quickly. Her nerves were getting to her. "W-what do you mean about fillings and plans?"

Rindou shrugged. "Don't make me think I haven't noticed you and Tsukasa meeting up together," Rindou growled.

Rindou entered the baths and Nene followed. Rindou faced the closet as she began undressing. Nene stood by, waiting, with her towel and bath basket in hand.

"W-what do you mean by that?" Nene couldn't see Rindou's face. She only saw the back of the fearsome Second Seat. It wasn't the normal slouch with a bit of shoulder peeking through from a loose bathing kimono being slipped off… it was straight and rigid. Rindou's hair looked like it was a blazing inferno.

The Second Seat's back was beautifully pale.

"Whatever it is your planning, I suggest you back off." Rindou scratched the back of her head. "I've got my own way of doing things and chaos is a lot more interesting than backdoor schemes."

Nene crossed her arms. "We're planning nothing of the sort," she lied.

Rindou chuckled. She turned around, a single yellow eye met Nene's glasses. Nene's eyes lowered from her gaze from Rindou's eyes and was reminded again of two big reasons why she had a mild disdain for the Second Seat.

"Might be time to gobble the First Seat up, dontcha think?"

Nene gulped. The friendship between the First and Second Seat was no secret to anyone on campus. They've been inseparable since their time in the middle school division. Because of such harmony, there's been no major conflicts between them and the upper levels of the Elite Ten had enjoyed an unprecedented level of peace unknown for an entire generation.

"If that's your desire, then it is far from my petty power to stop you."

Rindou laughed.

Rindou was gently organizing her belongings.

"That's the sort of attitude that's going to keep you a frog in a well, kiddo." Rindou turned around. "You aren't interested in fights you have no hope of winning. You stand around researchin', studyin', practicin'... for what? If you want to be the very best, like no one ever was, then you have to start challenging the very best - even if it means you might get a white out and wake up in the nearest Pokemon Center after."

Nene narrowed her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"Y-you've never played Pokemon!?" Rindou gasped. "You poor, poor sheltered girl…"

Nene's eye twitched.

"I am not sheltered!" Nene snapped.

Nene's pet peeve was to be called sheltered. She had endured the toughest training regimes for various Japanese arts. She would not stand by and be told she knows nothing of the world!

Rindou turned around and smiled. She was folding her clothes and belongings into the basket.

"That's good. Maybe one day you'll be Second Seat."

"I'm going to be first seat."

"Maybe?" Rindou was fumbling around her robes. "I knew I have it somewhere…"

"What are you looking for?"

"Me? An incentive. _Ah!_ Found it! Here catch," said Rindou, who in her nude glory, tossed a small container to Nene.

Nene examined the small vial. It was glass and light and filled with dirty looking leaves…

…

... _Impossible_ , Nene gasped.

" _Da Hong Pao_ " Nene murmured.

The rarest tea in the world, harvested from oxidized leaves in the hazardous mountains of eastern China. The leaves must be collected by hand from an already rare plant. The tea was so rare that United States President Richard Nixon was offended he was only given only 50 grams as a state gift but was stunned to discover that the amount gifted to him was half of the People's Republic of China's entire reserve.

"Yeah… I think there's a death penalty or something waiting for me if I step onto Chinese territory but if I wanted more I figure Kuga could get me some," Rindou laughed and crossed her arms.

Nene's hands were shaking. Rindou's extravagance and eccentricity with rare ingredients were well known… but to get something so valuable!?

 _To be able to cook with such an ingredient would be a privilege…_ , Nene thought.

"Wait," began Nene. "What do you mean by incentive?"

Rindou pointed dramatically at Nene.

"I declare war!" Rindou exclaimed loudly in the middle of a bath changing room. Nene was the only audience members. "If I win then you butt out of my business and if you win I'll give that vial to you and I'll butt out of your business."

Rindou's thick delicious thighs ( _that Nene only noticed because they couldn't stop moving!_ ) swayed with each word.

And with a flash of a hand, Rindou snatched the vial back and tucked it back into her bath basket.

"W-what? Are we going to do a shokugeki?" asked Nene.

Rindou shook her head. "Nah, shokugekis are no fun. You'd lose for sure. Doesn't matter the theme or conditions. Even if Eishi is helping you, you're still no match for me… Nah, nah, nah... I'm going to bury you in a different way," Rindou said softly. Nene felt she shrunk by several orders of magnitude before the grand nude presence of the Second Seat of the Elite Ten Council. Her golden eyes were blazing like a pair of suns.

"What are we fighting over?" Nene asked. Her throat felt dry under the immense spiritual pressure.

"Well, using my authority as the First Assistant Camp Director, I've proposed to Dojima-sensei that instead of the traditional formal dinner that we have at the end of the training camp that instead we do something else. Something special."

"That can't be good…" Nene thought to the possibilities. Fondue party? Hot pot party? Nene shuddered. She hated sharing dishes.

"We're going to be doing a school dance!"

Rindou waved her arms excitedly.

"A what?"

"A school dance. We're doing that."

"Why…"

Rindou closed the distance between their lips.

"Because only one of us can take _him_. Whoever escorts him to the dance. That's how we decide the winner of our little conflict."

Nene's eyes widened. It was clear Rindou knew what they both wanted.

"I-I…"

Rindou placed a slender finger on Nene's lips. Her lithe form slowly encircled her like a snake. Nene could feel the softness of Rindou's form pressing against her school uniform.

Rindou was embracing Nene.

Nene was stunned, like a mouse caught by a snake tightening its grip. A moist feeling pressed against her ear.

Rindou spoke straight to Nene's mind.

" _Do you accept my declaration of war?_ "

It was cold. It was chilling. Nene felt she could melt into Rindou's arms. She struggled to regain her composure. The softness was killing her. It was intoxicating - the scents of the world lingered over Rindou's sensual form.

Nene gulped.

The Second Seat of the Elite Ten… in a straight up fight she'd have no chance of winning. Kuga was brutalized by unanimous decision against Eishi. Eishi promptly forgot he even fought Kuga in a shokugeki. Nene was nothing before this woman who had the entire school wrapped around her little finger… she even causually offered the rarest tea in the world as a prize! For what! A date to the training camp dance!? Nene's thoughts fell to the dark realizations… she was just a frog to her… a sheltered spoiled frog stuck in a well…

Nene felt tears bud in her eyes. She had to turn down the war… she had to say she couldn't agree to these terms…

If she won, she'd get the rarest ingredient she'd ever touched and get free reign to pursue her interests.

If she loses, she'd had to forfeit him to Rindou Kobayashi of all people… it was too much of a gamble. She couldn't act on stupid silly things like impulses… Would he even say yes? Would he be interested in things like dances or dates? Nene had to… she had to think of a plan… a strategy… she had to think… Nene thought… and thought… and...

...then she thought of _him_.

She wanted… what did Nene want…? Nene thought carefully and an instantaneous moment she knew the answer.

She wanted _him_ to notice her… and… and…

She wanted to make food good enough for him… Nene felt her warmth return at the thought.

But she can't do that with Rindou Kobayashi standing her in way!

Nene pushed off Rindou who could only blink in surprise.

" _Bring it on, you crazy woman._ "

 _Chapter Twelve Fin_

 _A Declaration of War_

 **Bonus Scene:**

 _Why!? Why did I say something so incredibly embarrassing!?_ Nene thought to herself. It was past midnight. Rindou was snoring in the bed beside Nene's own. Nene began slamming her head into the pillow and screaming into it between breaths.

 _Oh my god, oh my god, that was so stupid_ , Nene cried.

' _Bring it on, you crazy woman_ '? Nene recalled. _Ugh!_ Nene had thought of a thousand snappier things to say. ' _I accept_ ' had a formal and dignified feel but was succinct and cool. Nene could have went with ' _I'm going to bury you_ ' to harken back to Rindou's first few proclamations. Even ' _I'm going to enjoy your funeral_ ' had a nice ring to it!

INSTEAD SHE HAD TO GO WITH 'bring it on, you crazy woman'!

 _It was so stupid and so so embarrassing. Oh god, oh god_ , Nene cried to herself.

"No… no… don't lick here…" Rindou snorted in her sleep.

Nene felt her cheeks turn crimson. She looked to her bed neighbor sharing the Assistant Camp Director room. Rindou scratched her exposed belly.

"Don't lick there…" Rindou moaned.

 _Was she having one of_ those _dreams?_ , Nene thought.

"Stop licking that filthy thing," Rindou giggled in her sleep. "I deep fry chickens there…"

 _Who the hell licks a deep fryer!?_

Nene's eyes twitched at the stupidity of the Second Seat.

"Haha… I'm a crazy woman…," Rindou snickered in her sleep before rolling over. "Haha... crazy woman... can't believe she said that..."

Then the memories flooded back to Nene and she felt her heart pounding embarrassment strike like lightning through her veins and spine.

Nene buried her face into her pillow before screaming internally into her nightmare.

 _Uuuwwwaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!_

 **Bonus Scene End**


	13. A Dish Too Spicy for God

**Summary:** _Second Seat of the Elite Ten_ _Rindou Kobayashi has always marched to the beat of her own drum. Unconventional, unorthodox, and with a playful persona - Rindou could never find the appeal of a rather boring, cooking school. Nothing held her attention for long, that is, until a particular transfer student came along…_

 **Doesn't it make your Heartbeat Flutter?**

 **Shokugeki no Souma**

 _Chapter Thirteen_

 _A Dish Too Spicy for God_

Nene Kinokuni was planning something. Rindou Kobayashi just knew she was.

But what could it be!

Rindou ruffled her hair in irritation.

"Ugh! I can't stand it! _I can't stand it!_ "

Rindou ran the simulations through her head like a MAGI Supercomputer. She thought of ways Nene could try to sabotage her toothpaste by filling it with fermented fish stew. Perhaps Nene would inform Interpol where the infamous 'Rare-Ingredient Hunter' Rindou was hiding out. Maybe Nene would sell her out to the Australians! It was just a few kangaroos, Rindou bemoaned as she recalled the bounty on her head on that stupid continent-country. Nobody would've missed them right? Who needs a permit! Besides! How could a stupid little island be both a country and a continent? You can't double dip like that!

As Rindou continued pondering the complex geopolitics of Aussie-land shadowy figure appeared behind her.

" _Look._ Kid… I get you're going through something… but do you really have to do this in the middle of class?" Kojiro Shinomiya asked. A blood vein was twitching on his forehead.

Rindou blinked. She looked around.

Kojirou Shinomiya was in the middle was class. Some students were staring at her. Everyone was in the midsts of preparing their dish, which appeared to be the Nine Vegetable Terrine. The recipe was written on the board. Piles of ingredients were being stewed, fried, parboiled, and prepped in a variety of ways while Rindou was busy lamenting her newfound enemy Nene Kinokuni. Rindou was so focused on the problem at hand, she didn't realize where she was going.

But why was she in the middle of Shinomiya's class of all places?

"Uh, Rindou-senpai? Do you mind scooting over? I need to set the cutting board."

Yukihira Souma, dressed in his cooking attire, held a cutting board in one hand and a plate of vegetables in the other.

 _Oh yes_ , Rindou thought to herself. _That's why I'm here._

Rindou soon had her favorite underclassman in a headlock. Souma expertly juggled his cutting board and plate of vegetables without a single leaf falling off.

"It's Rindou- _nee_! Nee! Say it! _Say it!_ "

"Rindou-nee, I'm a bit busy you see…"

As Rindou continued assaulting Yukihira who did it his best to fend off the relentless attack, Megumi Tadokoro was busy presenting her dish to the instructor.

Kojirou Shinomiya was not an easy man to please.

Tadokoro was beginning a litany of good-fortune hand gestures and prayers. She thought happy thoughts. She knew the cauliflower wasn't the best and she did modify the recipe. She found her take on the Nine Vegetable Terrine adequate… good enough at least! Surely the instructor wouldn't mind?

Kojirou Shinomiya took a bite. He set his fork and knife down. He chewed for a bit.

Then came his verdict.

"Failed. You're expelled. Get out."

The words echoed through Tadokoro ear. Failed. You're expelled. Get out. They repeated over and over in her mind. _My life as I know it is over_ , Tadokoro thought with tears in her eyes. _Farewell Tootsuki Academy… Farewell Polar Star Dorm… Farewell Sou-_

" _Are you a frickin' moron!?_ "

The entire classroom fell silent.

All eyes were on the outspoken critic who dared to insult the famed former First Seat. The voice belonged to a girl with fiery hair and an equally fiery temper. Tadokoro wiped away her tears, looking at her feisty defender...

...Rindou Kobayashi, Second Seat of the Elite Ten!

Instructor Shinomiya did not take the the insult lightly. He stood up.

"She deserves her expulsion, Miss Assistant Camp Director. Her Nine Vegetable Terrine was modified inappropriately-"

"That's so… _stupid!_ "

Rindou rushed to the front. She grabbed a fresh pair of utensils and took a hearty bite of Tadokoro's dish. She smiled.

"This is good!" Rindou exclaimed with a nod and wink at Tadokoro.

"It's acceptable," Kojirou conceded. "But she modified the recipe," Kojirou began again. "Her cauliflower-"

"Your cauliflower was _crap_. Aren't you supposed to make sure everyone gets decent enough ingredients? If there's bad ingredients in stock, then it's your fault. Do you get my drift? If Megumi here is your cook then she deserves the best ingredients you can provide! No wonder she had to improvise! Your management is _crap_."

"Look. Kid. I deliberately put in shoddy cauliflowers to weed out the-"

Rindou cupped a hand to an ear.

"So what I'm hearing is that you're a moron who can't properly stock his own kitchen. Maybe that's why your restaurant is getting reviews as bad as your cauliflower."

The entire classroom fell silent. The only sounds were that of pots overflowing and forgotten fires. Everyone paid their full attention to the trio of Tadokoro, Rindou, and Shinomiya. They were in a furious standoff - well, Rindou and Shinomiya were. Tadokoro was just terrified to be there.

A vein popped in Shinomiya's head. "Why… you… little… bi-"

"Enough Kojirou!"

The stalemate was broken by Dojima who entered the classroom.

"Dojima, I can explain-"

"I think it'd be wise if you weren't humiliated twice in a day, eh Kojirou? Let's all talk in my office. I'll have Inui cover for your class while we discuss this…" However, Inui, who had already grown quite fond of Tadokoro, began a furious assault on Kojirou's back while calling him a 'meanie-poo!' repeatedly.

In his office, Dojima heard both sides of the account. Kojirou laid out his lesson plan and Rindou pointed out how stupid it was to fail someone for trying to overcome the obstacles.

After a short period of thought, Dojima ruled in Tadokoro's favor.

And so, due to Rindou, the upper echelons found Tadokoro's modifications of the ingredients appropriate given the situation. Kojirou could only sit in silence as Dojima made his decision.

"Whew! I never knew our predecessors could be such pain in the backs!" Rindou declared as they exited the office.

"We can still hear you!" Kojirou shouted angrily from within the office through an open door. Rindou responded by promptly slamming the door shut.

"What hot bags of air…" Rindou muttered.

Megumi looked like her entire soul got sucked out of her.

"T-thank you, Kobayashi-senpai."

Rindou blinked.

Then her eyes narrowed.

Before Tadokoro realized what was going on, she was in a vicious headlock with her face pressed against Rindou's deliciously thick sides.

"Rindou-nee. _Nee_! Rindou- _nee!_ Say it! _Say it!_ "

Tadokoro screamed 'Rindou-nee' a thousand times before Rindou released her.

* * *

Nene approached Erina in private.

Although Erina was officially acting as just another student during the training camp and theoretically should lack the perks of being an Elite Ten Council Member, she still resided in a first class suite. It was roomy, decorated with imported artworks, and had all the trappings of a Five-Star Hotel.

"Erina Nakiri," Nene greeted as she approached Erina who was seated by a coffee table.

"Nene Kinokuni," Erina returned. "Please have a seat."

Nene took a seat as Hisako laid out tea and snacks before holding the tray tightly to her chest.

"I'll leave you two to your discussions. Lady Nene. Lady Erina," Hisako said formally. Erina's private secretary bowed and left the two to discuss matters in private.

Nene took a cup and drinking. She preferred her tea sharp and bitter. No sugar. No honey. Only purity. Erina carefully mixed in two cubes of sugar and stirred while Nene sipped.

It looked like a renaissance painting of two high class ladies enjoying tea - in Japanese school girl uniforms of course.

"So what is this business you wished to discuss with me?" Erina asked. Hisako had received a notification from Nene herself to request a meeting and arrangements were hastily made. "I apologize for the poor choice of venue. It was such short notice and we are far from the Academy proper. All possible meeting rooms were taken."

"It is not an issue." Nene assured. Erina's suite was more than suitable. "I rather prefer the privacy and intimacy, given the matters of our discussions to come."

Erina eyed Nene carefully. Just what could Nene, the feared Sixth Seat of the Elite Ten Council, wish to discuss that involved privacy and intimacy?

"Really? I thought this conversation would be business matters, not personal ones." Erina set her teacup down and placed it on the table. She folded her arms over her crossed legs. "Just what could this be about?"

Nene mimicked her underclassman, placing the teacup down onto the table.

"I believe we have a mutual opponent we can both take down," Nene began.

"Just who could you be referring to?" Erina asked, her curiosity piqued. Any move to strengthen her faction and secure more kitchens, ingredients, and supply lines would greatly boost her position and move up the Elite Ten rankings. With an improved position, she would have stronger negotiating power to raise funding, secure rare recipes, and acquire prime real estate for her culinary empire.

"Well," Nene continued with a smile. "Our mutual enemy is-"

 _ **BOOM!**_

The door bursted open like a hurricane!

" _What's up my fellow Elite Ten sistas!_ "

A wild Rindou Kobayashi has appeared!

As the two younger Elite Ten members recovered from their premature heart attacks, Hisako ran in apologizing profusely.

"I'm so sorry Lady Erina! But Lady Kobayashi overpowered me and-"

"Oh please, I tossed some stuff Yukihira made at you and you squealed ' _Ew!_ Fried sardines and PB&J don't go together!'," Rindou said with a laugh. "Speaking of which…"

Rindou pulled two underclassman to her side by the shoulders.

"Heya," said Yukihira sheepishly.

"H-h-h-h-h-hi-hi- _hic_!" Tadokoro got nervous hiccups.

"Yukihira?" Nene whispered.

"Y-Yukihira Souma!?" Erina shouted. She covered her chest as if Souma had seen something indecent. "A-and Tadokoro Megumi too!?" Her eyes returned to Yukihira. "Don't you realize it's indecent to come into a girls room!? It's improper! Vulgar! Licentious! Salacious!"

"Oh please. It's just a hotel room," said Rindou.

"Miss Kobayashi! You must leave Lady Erina's room immediately!"

Hisako began pushing the trio of newcomers but Rindou flicked her forehead. Rindou Kobayashi's superhuman strength sent Hisako tumbling backwards into the room.

"Out of my way you side character," Rindou said with a laugh.

Erina scowled at the predicament.

"Regardless! He stays outside!" Erina demanded. Rindou shrugged and told Yukihira to stand in the hallway while they chatted. Yukihira returned the shrug and stood outside. He could be seen standing idly by the doorway.

"U-u-um… do I really have to be here?" Megaumi thought the sentence to herself. She never actually asked the question in reality. The overwhelming aura of one Elite Ten Council Member was already enough to send Tadokoro into shock but a trio of them was causing a life-or-death crisis. Tadokoro was currently in her own realm of thought.

"Just what are you doing here anyways?" Nene asked as she finally regained her composure.

"Indeed," Erina said while checking over Hisako who was knocked out cold. Tadokoro had the self-awareness to help Erina lift Hisako onto the sole bed in the suite. After being sure Hisako was not seriously injured, Erina turned back to Rindou. "Just what do you want?"

Rindou, smiling at the assembled cast, pulled out a large package from her jacket.

"Behold! The 2x **MEGA HOT** Stir-Fried Noodle, Hot Spicy Chicken Flavor Ramen, Limited Edition (comes in packs of 5)" Rindou presented the bag proudly as everyone except Yukihira, still standing in the hallway, looked less than bemused. "What's with that lukewarm reaction!? This stuff is _magical_!"

"It's instant food," Erina scoffed. "What's so good about instant food?"

Rindou delivered a sharp chop to Erina's forehead.

"Listen to your upperclassman! She's going to teach you something special!" said Rindou as she began rolling up to her sleeves. Out of her Mary Poppins jacket, Rindou produced bottles of water, serving and cooking utensils, a couple of paper plates, and a portable gas stove.

"Are those even allowed in the hotel?" Nene asked as Rindou delivered a swift chop to her forehead.

In no time at all, Rindou began boiling the noodles and preparing the instant package according to instructions. Five minutes of boiling followed by draining the water. Then she did a quick stir fry with the sauce and finished it off with a packet of garnish.

She did this, of course, with five packs at once, for five helpings. Herself, Nene, Erina, Tadokoro, and Yukihira. Hisako, being knocked out, would sit this one out.

Then with the swiftness of a samurai, she partitioned the portions onto five plates. Four of the portions were equal but smaller compared to Rindou's portion which looked almost double the size of other portions.

"Hope ya like it!" she said showing off a toothy grin. "Dig it!"

Rindou quickly broke a pair of chopsticks and began eating.

Nene and Erina looked at each other in silent agreement that they would continue their conversation later. Right now they had to appease _The Beast Incarnate_ … the _Monster Amongst Chefs_ … the _Phenom_ … Kobayashi Rindou was known to do some inane antics from time to time and to refuse her was to invite her wrath. Kobayashi Rindou could single handedly bring down all the independent clubs and circles of Tootsuki under her thumb (if she cared enough to do it).

"This smells okay…" Megumi said before nibbling on a few noodles. Yukihira, standing out in the hallway and looking through the open door, agreed with her and helped himself.

Erina and Nene both stared at their plates.

"Instant food…? Really?" Nene was still aghast that the Second Seat would lower herself to such plebian cuisine.

Erina didn't care. She just wanted to get it over it. Instant food or not! She watched Rindou Kobayashi continue to slurp the noodles as if they were New Year's Mochi. Erina steeled her resolve, took a clump of noodles and slurped some herself.

And, for a brief moment, it was _magical_.

Erina envisioned herself in the middle of an enchanted forest. She was singing a beautiful song and dressed in a beautiful blue and white dress. Deer and squirrels and birds were all around her, standing at attention as if she were holding a royal court. Erina felt as if she could sing a musical for an entire two hour animated feature film.

Then came the smoke.

Then came the _fire_.

The blazing inferno grew and grew. It was like an all consuming darkness that would not relent. A tempting seductress rode at the head of the tidal wave of flame…

Kobayashi Rindou, dressed in a she-devil costume that exposed her delicious thighs, raised high a mighty pitchfork and cheered for the coming apocalypse.

The animals cried. They scattered, scurrying away into the darkened woods.

Erina was alone as the flames destroyed her magical forest. She was enveloped in the sensual heat.

It was the exact opposite of God's Tongue. This was just wanton, senseless destruction. Walls of flame were towering before her. Her blue and white dress was burning away in the heat… leaving her bare and exposed… then a devil stood before her…

Rindou Kobayashi!

 _Hellfire!_ , Erina screamed.

Erina returned to reality.

"The trick is to breath it in. Don't chew. Just let the noodles go down your throat," Rindou advised while slurping more noodles.

"But then you're not really eating the food! You're _inhaling_ it!" Nene cried.

"How can you even eat food without _chewing_ it!?" Erina added. Her vision was blurred by tears and the desecration of the once sacred forest of her tastebuds. "What madness is this!?"

Rindou tilted her head. "But if I chew it, it's too spicy." Rindou then slurped some more noodles.

Erina's face grew redder and redder. Tears of pain were streaming down her face.

"Hey this stuff is pretty good," Souma said with a mouthful of noodles. "How's yours Megumi?"

"I-I like it…" Megumi nodded as she ate a bit more. "We have a lot of vacationeers from Korea come by… so it's not too dissimilar from things my mom has made to order for them."

Nene and Erina made eye contact with each other.

 _Are we the only sane ones here!?_ , they both thought at the exact same time. There was a pitcher of water on a table and they both raced towards it. They quickly poured cups to cool their burning mouths.

As Nene and Erina began gasping for water to cool their throats, Rindou grinned. She had a devilish look of a girl with a plan. With an innocent turn of her head, Rindou asked a simple question. "You guys hear about the dance?"

Nene and Erina both spat out their water.

"What!?" Nene and Erina cried at the same time.

"Yeah!" Rindou said, trying to cover up the other Elite Ten members surprised expressions. "So how about you? Thinking of going? It's on the last day of the training camp and-" She never finished her sentence. Rindou's mouth was covered by Nene's hands as her arms were restrained by Erina. The two girls realized Rindou's ploy at the same time. Rindou wanted Souma to make his decision while her two biggest competitors were too busy battling the rage of spicy noodles!

"What are you thinking!?" Nene hissed into Rindou's ear.

Rindou giggled as a spicy tinge assaulted her ear.

"I'm thinking of getting a date," Rindou whispered back. Nene grew redder with rage.

"A-a-a date!?" Erina gasped as she overheard her seniors discussing scandalous plans.

Nene couldn't lose the initiative to Kobayashi! The time to strike is now!

"Well in that case! Yukihira!" Nene turned to Yukihira Souma in the doorway. Tadokoro had moved by closer to him as they continued finishing up their noodle-ly dishes. "Are you planning on going to the dance!?"

"Sure," Yukihira said in between slurps of noodle.

"Are you going with anyone!?"

Erina gasped again. It was just like the scene in her shoujo mangas. Was this… was it… the fabled love confession!?

"Oh." Souma, with a mouthful of noodles, turned to Tadokoro. "You want to go to the dance?"

"Eh? But I don't like dancing… but sure!" Megumi Tadokoro agreed happily.

The three other girls in attendance could only watch the pair, their mouths opened in astonishment.

Rindou growled. "So it seems the little chipmunk is quite the beaver…," she said eyeing the country bumpkin currently chatting it up with Yukihira about plans for the dance.

"T-they already going out!?" Erina's mind, already corrupted from the burning hells, nearly broke. This was one of those unpredictable plot developments she read about! Erina passed out, too exhausted to comprehend the situation until the next volume.

Nene, however, stood shocked. She did not expect this outcome. Quickly, she ran out towards her room. She had paperwork to file.

* * *

"Well I don't mind doing this. It is the correct decision after all."

Nene nodded in agreement as Sojirou returned the paper. He had signed after a short glance. The previous First Seat's suite was much larger than any students - even the suite she shared with Rindou was small in comparison. Such is the luxuries of being an alum Nene supposed.

Nene bowed and left the room, walking towards Camp Director Dojima's office to place to place the paperwork on his desk. By morning, it would be official.

 _This was the right move_ , Nene thought to herself. _This is the right move..._

...

But was it really?

Nevertheless, she had to deny her enemies any advantage. What better way than to deny them to the battlefield?

Nene nodded to the security guard who acknowledged her ID and cleared her into the inner sanctums of the administration offices. Nene found his office easily enough and placed the paperwork upon it.

Before she closed the door and sealed a poor girl's fate, Nene sighed.

She had to do this.

The moon, peeking through the glass windows, spied the document's contents.

In red ink, over the profile picture of a nervously smiling Megumi Tadokoro, read the words:

 _ **FAILED. EXPELLED.**_

 _Chapter Thirteen Fin_

 _A Dish Too Spicy for God_


End file.
